Secrets of the Devil
by Gold Dragon of Egypt
Summary: Devil seeks to destroy... Angels' attempts thwarted...or are they? Love conquers all...or does it? Is Hatred the Key? Secrets unlocked, Fate shows its face, Destiny is revealed... And Emotions are everything.
1. Chapter 1

Here is a new and improved version of my old fanfiction (that decided to die on me, courtesy of my muses) _Secrets of the Devil_. For those of you who enjoyed that other fanfiction, never fear, this one isn't so different, plot-wise. (Character-wise, it is.)

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_, or any of its characters. All of that is owned by Studio Sunrise (lucky them). All I own are my own characters. So anyone stupid enough to sue me shall find their tail ends smoking by dinner time.**

~~*****~~

**Chapter 1: Faces**

Van Fanel leaned back on the roof, his arms folded behind his head, his chest heaving as he let out a long, sad sigh. Mahogany-red eyes glistened with sadness as he gazed silently at the two spheres hanging in the night sky, framed by billions of tiny twinkling stars that broke through the blackness. His eyes rested first on the bluish-white sphere that was the Mystic Moon, then trailed to the smaller gray globe at its feet.

The Mystic Moon…

It had only been a few months, but it seemed like ages since they had last been together. He closed his eyes, as an image of the girl's face surfaced slowly in his mind: the wide, sparkling dark green eyes that held so many secrets; the short, fluffy, light brown hair that so many Gaeans found queer and boyish; the rosy cheeks and warm smile that always lit her face; the high, musical laughter accompanied by a gentle voice that soothed him. At first, her voice had been scolding and harsh; then, after time, she grew concerned for him, until finally her voice overflowed with love whenever she spoke to him. Van opened his eyes slowly, a sad smile lingering on his face as his mind echoed her name…

Hitomi… 

~You called?~ a voice in his head replied cheerfully. Eyes wide, Van sat up straight suddenly. He came back to his senses when he started to slide off the roof, and grabbed the nearest shilling to keep him in place. He stared at the sky above him, his eyes unfocused… Suddenly, his vision was a blur of blue and pale green…

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of her. He locked gazes with her mystical orbs, and a warm smile slowly spread on his face. He reached out and gently touched her cheek, his gaze softening as his finger brushed across her smooth skin. He took a step closer, putting their bodies hardly an inch apart.

~Hitomi…~ He just had to say her name; it felt so good to say her name. ~I've been thinking about you. I miss you so much,~ he told her, stroking her cheek softly with one finger. ~It feels like it's been forever since you were last here,~ he continued.

Hitomi laughed—music to Van's ears. ~Oh Van!~ she exclaimed. ~It's only been a few months.~ She smile gently, and cupped his cheek in her hand. ~But it's nice to know you miss me that much,~ she added softly. She buried her face in his shirt, giggling softly. ~You need to smile more, Van. You're the one who made me leave, remember?~

Van winced, before wrapping his arms gently around her. How could he forget that day? It had taken all of his self-control not to burst into tears as the blue pillar of link swept her away. As it was, later that day, in the privacy of his bedroom—or what there was of it, seeing as Fanelia was still under construction—he had curled into a corner and unlocked the door to his grief.

Hitomi looked up at him and tilted her head. ~Van? Remember what you said that day? _We can see each other anytime, so long as our thoughts reach each other._ You remember that? It still holds true, Van. You have the pendant,~ she reminded him, placing her hand on the pink stone around his neck. ~You know what to do, don't you?~

Van placed his hand over hers. ~Of course I do,~ he said. ~Do you honestly think I'm that forgetful?~ He pretended to look hurt, and she laughed.

Suddenly, her laughter came to an abrupt halt, and she cursed. ~Damn it! I'm sorry, Van, but my stupid brother is calling my name all over the house. We're home alone, and I'm supposed to be baby-sitting him—you know, take care of him while my parents are away…~ she hastily explained, constantly glancing over her shoulder. ~Oh, damn it! I'm sorry, Van.~ She hugged him tightly. ~Remember, I love you.~

~I love you, too, Hitomi,~ Van whispered as she slowly vanished. His vision was a whirlwind of colors again, and he was back on the rooftop of Fanelia castle, staring at the Mystic Moon and her child, shadowed by winking stars. He smiled and closed his eyes. _I love you, Hitomi_. Slowly, he fell into the pure bliss of sleep, a smile still on his face.

~*~

Delicate, slightly pointed ears pricked forward. A pair of emerald-green eyes slitted in concentration. The switching of a long, bushy tail was the only break in the black cat-girl's stillness. Without warning, she flicked her wrist. A flash of silver, a rush of air, a snap of metal on wood… The knife cracked through the heart of the target, shattering it. She did not blink even once when wooden shards shot off in all directions, a few narrowly missing her body. She stared at the knife, now embedded in the small slab of wood still nailed to the wall. She did not make a sound; even her footsteps were inaudible as she stepped to the other side of the room to retrieve her weapon.

"Well done, Kirra," a deep voice interjected. "You have certainly improved since I last had the opportunity to sneak up on you during practice." The voice was filled with mild tease. Her ears twitching slightly, the cat-girl turned to the doorway, her green eyes fixed on the speaker. A tall, muscular wolf-boy stepped out of the shadows, his white fur streaked with a golden glow in the dim light of the training room. Behind him was a she-dog, with the muzzle of a wolf and the ears of a spaniel. Her fur was a warm, creamy, reddish color, with a white stripe down the center of her forehead.

Kirra narrowed her eyes at the newcomers, the switching of her tail the only sign of her displeasure. In a voice so emotionless it was almost cold, she demanded, "What are you doing here, and what do you want?" When neither of them answered, she pulled her knife out of the remains of the target and held it up in front of her. The dim light cast an eerily red glow on the tarnished steel blade. She never took her eyes off the two canines.

"Her Majesty," the dog offered as an answer. Unlike most, these two were not intimadated by the cat-girl's silent threat. They knew her too well. Although cats and dogs are normally not known for getting along easily, these three had grown up in the royal palace together, and were aquainted if not friends. Kirra did not have many friends—at least, not many people whom she would willingly call a friend.

She stared at the dog-girl, and although she was curious, she kept her emotions under her skin. "Her Majesty?" she echoed, lowering the knife. "What would Her Majesty want with us?"

"That's what we're going to find out," the wolf-boy said, cocking an eyebrow. "Are you coming, Kirra? We can't keep Her Majesty waiting too long." He turned and walked out the door, the dog not far behind.

Kirra dropped the knife on the floor, watching as it stuck hilt-up in the wooden floor, wobbling a bit before ceasing all movement. Without a single word, she turned on her heels and strode out of the training room, letting the door bang shut behind her.

~*~

"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" The white cat kneeled on the ground in front of the golden throne; but her eyes remained fixed on the face of the person sitting in the throne: a young tiger-woman with broad black stripes and pale orange fur that seemed to shimmer white in the silvery light of the room. A gold crown sat atop a mass of black curls, and she gazed down her nose at the cat-woman with sharp amber eyes.

"Yes, Adibah, I did," Queen Alakana said, her voice short and crisp. "I have done as you requested; the five should be arriving here momentarily." She narrowed her flashing eyes. "Now I demand to know _why_ these five are being summoned. You haven't explained anything to me yet, soothsayer."

Adibah did not flinch under that sharp gaze; she kept her icy blue eyes on the queen's amber orbs, and rose to her feet. "I cannot explain anymore until they arrive, Your Majesty," she said, ignoring the anger that flashed across the queen's eyes. "But I will say this: I have summoned them to fulfill the destiny that was prophecized at their births."

"Prophecies?" the queen said, knitting her brows.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Adibah paused, and turned to face the double doors. One wrinkled white ear twitched. "And, if I'm not mistaken, some have arrived." To prove her point, the giant doors creaked open, and Kirra and the two canines stepped cautiously into the room. Almost immediately they fell to their knees, their heads bowed. Adibah looked expectantly at the queen.

"Rise, my children," Alakana said, smiling warmly, "and come closer." They obeyed, stepping forward until they were within a yard of the throne. Alakana nodded to each in turn. "Kirra. Urufu. Aurelia." As each looked up at the sound of their name, her gaze softened. _Such gentle younglings, these children of my warriors_, she thought, with a trace of sadness.

She turned expectantly to Adibah. "Would you care to explain what these children are here for?" she said. Although her tone suggested a request, it was undoubtly meant to be an order. But Adibah smiled and shook her head.

"If you don't mind waiting just a bit more, Your Majesty, we still have two missing," she said, gesturing to the door. "I would prefer to explain the details when everyone has arrived. Ah…and here they come now."

This time, only one of the doors opened, and just enough to allow a tiny crack of golden light from the hallway filter in the silvery glow of the room. A couple of golden feathers floated into the air, as two pairs of eyes, one amber and one golden, peered cautiously around the corner of the door. Kirra found herself turning around to stare at the newcomers, and sniffed the air delicately. The smells that filled her nostrils were familiar, but she could not place them…

Adibah smiled. "There is nothing to fear, my children. Come in," she said, beckoning. The eyes vanished, and, seconds later, a girl stepped into the room. Her skin was pure white, and her amber eyes were slanted. Her floor-length hair was black tinted with silver, and gathered into a twisting braid that trailed behind her. Two enormous golden-brown wings sprouted from between her shoulderblades. Kirra's senses tingled almost painfully, and she blinked in mild shock. A bird-person? There were not many of them in the royal palace, especially since the queen was a tiger.

"And you must be Muniya," the queen said, a trace of surprise flickering across her striped features. "Come in. Do not be afraid."

The bird-girl inclined her head, her thin, silvery-black bangs falling over her eyes. She strode gracefully into the room, drawing Kirra's eyes to her attire: A long silver gown draped gracefully over her body, covering her feet, which, like most bird-folk's, where taloned. She halted when she was beside Aurelia, her head still bowed. Try as she might, Kirra could not get a look at her eyes without being obvious.

"And you come in, too, Nyoka," Adibah said loudly. It was only then that Kirra realized that there was still one unfamiliar scent coming from just behind the door. At the soothsayer's words, a boy stepped into the room. A black-speckled blue tail, tipped with a sharp triangle, like an arrow's head, switched the air behind him. Two thick blue stripes ran down the sides of his green-tinted face. A mass of black hair, streaked with blue, surrounded his face, and trailed down his back in a long, thick tail. His clawed feet raked the ground as he walked, and Kirra was willing to bet the the hands stuffed in his pockets ended in clawed fingers.

The cat-girl blinked. _A snake?_

"Now that everyone is here, I shall explain why I asked Her Majesty to summon you were," Adibah said, moving to stand in front of the throne, facing the five beast-children. "There is danger afoot—danger greater than any you have known in your lifetime. I, on the other hand, have witnessed the passing of this danger twice. You have read about it in your history books, and the name I am about to give you often stimulates fear and panic." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "My children…the Kalryn's Devil has returned."

~*~

To Be Continued… 

I hope to get at least one review before updating the next chapter. So, please, review. It would be greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_ or anything related to it. It is the sole property of Studio Sunrise. I own only my own characters. Anyone who tries to sue me shall find themselves running from my den with their tail end smoking.**

~~*****~~

**Chapter 2: Reunion**

Hitomi gazed longingly out her window. Only minutes ago her parents had arrived home and she had been set free from the horrors of baby-sitting her younger brother. She rested her chin in her palms and sighed. Stupid boy…he had interrupted her talk with Van; she enjoyed talking with him. It had been months, and although she had tried to make him feel better by saying it had not been that long, she, too, felt as though it had been decades since they had last seen each other. She traced patterns on the glass with her forefinger. She missed Van so much that, sometimes, it was painful. It did not help that her best friend, Yukari, had a boyfriend….

On sudden impulse, she leaped out of the chair she had been sitting in, crashed through her bedroom door and nearly flew down the steps. She sprinted past the kitchen, where her mother was cleaning up dinner, and banged loudly through the front door, without even bothering to close it behind her.

Mrs. Kanzaki smiled at her daughter knowlingly.

Nearly tripping down the steps, Hitomi ran all the way to the high school, not stopping until she reached the track field, where she had first met Van so many months ago. She collapsed on her hands and knees onto the pavement, panting. _Van…_ She lifted her head to the skies. Although it was cloudy and she could not see it, she knew it was there: Gaea. She did not think anyone else could see it, but she could. She closed her eyes. _Van…I wish to see you again. Van… _~Van…~

A flash of blue…and she was gone.

~*~

~Van?~

Van's eyes flew open, and he sat up straight in bed.

~Van? Van!~

~Hitomi?~ Slight warmth on his chest caused him to look down, and he inhaled sharply. The pendant—the pendant Hitomi had given him, the one that had belonged to her grandmother—was glowing brightly. _Hitomi…_ Without a second thought, the raven-haired boy threw off the covers and nearly fell out of bed. Yanking on his boots, he crashed through his bedroom door, wearing only khaki pants. He dashed through the palace halls, oblivious to the queer, puzzled glances he received from the castle staff as he skidded around corners and nearly tripped over numerous humps in the carpet. _This had better not be a dream_, he thought, gritting his teeth.

He burst through the doors…and proceeded to trip over a wooden beam lying in his path. He let out a hiss as the bare flesh of his shoulder scraped against the wooden porch. _Charming work, Fanelia_. He yanked a splinter out of his arm, leaving behind a long, thin gash, and winced. _Yes, that's right, injure yourself before you see her. At least you know it's not a dream._

~Van? Van, where are you?~ Hitomi's voice broke clearly through his train of thought. The image of her face surfaced in his mind. ~Van? Van!~

"Hitomi," he murmured, staggering to his feet. He subconciously reached up and grasped the pendant firmly in his hands. Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally pushed as hard as he could at his back. _Hitomi…I will find you… Just hold on_. With a rush of hair, two enormous white bird wings shot out from between his shoulderblades. With a sigh, Van let his muscles relax. Then, inhaling deeply, he pushed off the ground and soared high into the sky. _Where is she?_ he thought. He closed his eye and focused his thoughts only on her, and felt the chain move as the pendant swung; and then it stopped. Van opened his eyes and found it was pointing left. _That's where she is…_

~Stay were you are, Hitomi. I'll find you.~

~*~

Queen Alakana stared at the white cat in front of her, horror scribbled in bold across her face. "You must be joking!" she managed to gasp out. "Surely he couldn't…no, he couldn't have! We destroyed the Devil over fifty years ago; my grandfather made sure of that!" She gripped the arms of her throne, her unsheathed claws raking the fragile gold. Even though she was trying to hide it, it was obviously to the trained eye that she was panicking.

Adibah met the queen's eyes with a calm, cool expression that did not fit the occasion. "Your grandfather _did_ destroy the Kalryn's Devil," she said, "but not permanently. Legend has it that it takes more than just the will of a monarch and the strength of an army to defeat a creature as powerful as the Devil." She paused, and her old eyes closed. "Your Majesty, I believe there is something you should know, and I do not understand why your father insisted this be kept from you." She opened her eyes, which still held firmly to calmness. "Your grandfather was not the first monarch to face the Kalryn's Devil, nor was he the first to defeat him."

Queen Alakana's eyes widened, and she stared at the woman before her in utter disbelief. "This…this is a joke, isn't it?" she said weakly. "Do you mean to tell me that the Kalryn's Devil is capable of resurrecting himself?"

Adibah smiled wanly. "In a way, yes. He can be destroyed, but as long as the source of his power still exists, he can always resurrect himself, using that source of power."

"So destroying his source of power will, in turn, destroy him, correct?" the queen said hopefully.

"Yes, but it's impossible to destroy the Devil's source of power," Adibah said, rubbing her temples. "The Devil's source of power is emotion—more specifically, hatred. He feeds off the greed, hatred and remorse of his enemies and uses it against them in battle. The only way your grandfather, and the monarchs before him, defeated the Devil was because they fought, not with hatred for their opponent, but with love and worry for their planet. That love was greater than their hated for the Devil, and that is what defeated him." She sighed. "But as long as emotion of any sort exists, especially hatred, the Devil's soul feeds off that energy, and he can return."

"Then how do we destroy him? And what do these young children have to do with that?" Alakana gestured to the four young people kneeling before her throne.

Adibah glanced at them. "I'm getting to that. Legend has it that the Kalryn's Devil can be annihilated completely, but only by a certain group of individuals known as 'the Seven'. This morning, my crystals informed me the identity of the six individuals who will lead the Devil to the gates of hell, where he belongs. These children who stand before you are four of the seven."

"Who are the other two? Why haven't you summoned them?"

"Because the other two are not of this world," Adibah replied. "In the past, the Devil has fed off hatred and its fellow negative emotions, in an effort to conquer Nya'tory. But this time, greed has consumed him, driving him to want not just this world, but others as well—namely Earth and Gaea. Currently, he is focused on the latter. As you know, Gaea has just suffered through a terrible war; the planet is weak, its armies are weak, and people are too busy recovering from their losses to think to worry about an assault from another planet—a planet they're unaware of the existence of."

"I take it the other two individuals are from Earth and Gaea?" Alakana said.

Adibah nodded. "Both are currently situated on Gaea, if I'm not mistaken. They are also the Devil's next target. You see, the Devil has, apparently, realized something. Hatred and greed may be strong emotions, but they are not _the _strongest. The strongest emotions are unconditional, and uncontrolled by the mind." She paused and looked pointedly at the queen.

"Love…" Alakana's voice barely rose above a soft whisper. "Love is unconditional, and beyond the control of the mind. And it is the strongest of emotions. It exceeds hatred, for love often conquers hate." Her voice trembled slightly. "Do you mean to tell me that the Devil no longer feeds off hatred, but off love?"

"Yes," the white cat-woman nodded. "And not just any love, but the love that extends beyond the boundaries of two worlds, the love that is so strong that one has to feel it to understand it…the love that is capable of saving an entire planet from destruction…"

~*~

**To Be Continued…**

~*~

Like it isn't obvious what 'the love that is capable of saving an entire planet' is—or who the lovers are (lol).

**Medatsu**: Me? A pro? *blushes furiously* Aw shucks, I feel so loved. Thank you! ^_^

**fallen-dark-angel**: I might as well tell you now, so you're not disappointed later; keep on dreaming (sorry). Though who's to say the Kalryn's Devil won't have the same personality as your dream-evil-guy? ^_~

Thanks a lot to those who reviewed… And to the rest of you… *looks pointedly at "Submit Review" button at bottom of screen*


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_, nor will I ever. It is the sole property of Studio Sunrise and anyone else who participated in its creation. I own only my own characters, the inhabitants of Nya'tory. Anyone who dares to sue me shall find themselves running from my lair with their tail end smoking.**

~~*****~~

**Chapter 3: Departure**

Hitomi shivered and hugged her light jacket close to her. Her knees clacked together, and her teeth chattered noisily. _Damn, I forgot how cold it is in the mountains_, she thought. _Has it really been that long since I've been here?_ A sad smile curled at the corners of her mouth. She stared longingly at the sky, grateful for the bright light provided by the Earth hanging in the sky. With a sigh, she went back to scanning her surroundings, and trudged forward slowly, kicking up bits of dry grass.

~Stay where you are, Hitomi. I'll find you.~

Hitomi's feet locked to the ground, and her entire body froze instantly; even her teeth stopped chattering. Her head swiveled around, and she pulled her coat tighter around her body. ~Van? Van, is that you? Where are you, Van?~

An enormous shadow passed overhead, and she looked up. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her lips, as a dark figure dived towards her, landing a few feet away. Hitomi rubbed her eyes, and stared. Staring back at her, dark red eyes sparkling in the moonlight, was the one person she had been waiting all these months to see:

Van Slanzar de Fanel.

Without words, she hurled herself at him, nearly knocking him backwards as she collided with his bare chest. She buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling deeply; the scent of a lush, green field filled her nostrils, and she sighed in content. She felt strong arms wrap firmly around her midsection, and heard a soft rustle of feathers as great white wings circled around her like a halo.

"Hitomi…" Hearing his voice in person, and not in their minds, was like drinking sweet syrup. Looking up, Hitomi found herself drowning in those dazzling orbs. She lifted one hand and brushed a finger along his jawline, pausing when she reached the corner of his mouth. He smiled warmly at her, and she felt her heart melt into liquid.

"Van…I missed you so much," she murmured, leaning her head on his chest.

She felt the rumble of his voice in his chest as he whispered softly, "I missed you, too…Hitomi."

~*~

Kirra sat silently in a corner of the room, her back against the rough stone wall. In the next room, the queen and the soothsayer were talking in hushed voices with the queen's advisors about what to do; they had sent the children out earlier with the claim that there was no need for young ears to hear this conversation. But Kirra was not taking any of it; were she a normal child, she would not be in the royal palace in the first place; she would be on the streets, at the mercy of the townspeople.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Muniya. The bird-girl intrigued her. No matter what, she seemed to opt for silence; and when she spoke, her voice was so soft that, even standing a foot away, it was a strain to hear her. She kept her head bowed most of the time, hiding her amber orbs from view, and kept her wings folded, as though to make herself as small and feeble-looking as possible. How had this shy bird become one of the Seven?

Next, she focused on Nyoka. Which reptile he was remained a mystery. For that matter, everything about him was a mystery. His eyes held no emotion, and seemed to stare right through whatever was in front in him. It was almost frightening.

"Damn, he picked the best of times to return." Urufu's low, growled muttering caught Kirra's attention, and she turned away from Muniya and Nyoka. The wolf-boy was tracing patterns in the stone with one claw, his head resting in the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and sighed wearily, before leaning back and stretching out his legs. "Why _now_, of all times? Damn it…"

"He's probably aware that Gaea is weak, and that this would be the best time to ambush them. Especially since one of his targets is busy seeing to the rebuilding of his country," Aurelia answered. Her floppy, creamy-red ears folded back slightly, and her nose twitched. "At least he's not going after two planets at once."

Kirra exhaled loudly, and both canines turned to look at her. "I don't even know how in hell's name he can expect to conquer Earth," she said, folding her arms. "The planet is highly advanced in weaponry. Gaea's Guymelefs are nothing compared to Earth's nuclear weapons and atomic bombs. Not only that, but magic won't do anything on Earth. Most Earthlings don't believe in the existence of magic. And, to top it off, he's not human; he's a beast-man. He might fit in on Gaea, but he's going to have one hell of a time disguising himself without looking too suspicious on Earth. Unless he's capable of shapeshifting into a human, that is."

"He is not." Four pairs of eyes turned to Muniya, who was gazing silently at them all. She had pitched her voice so it was still soft, but loud enough that they could hear her without having to stick their ears at her mouth. "Nor can he transform into a adequately-sized beast; he would be too big. He must think that, once he conquers Gaea, he can use their people as pawns to do his bidding on Earth. Why else do you think he is only going after one world at a time?"

Urufu's eyes widened as realization dawned. "I never thought of that…" he murmured, staring at the floor space between his feet.

"Well, if you didn't think about it, Adibah probably did," Kirra said, gaining confidence with each word. Normally, she avoided talking this much. But she was frustrated. Why did the queen insist on delaying them by conferencing with her councillors? Wouldn't sending the children to Gaea as soon as possible be the obvious answer? She let out some of her frustration in a low, exasperated sigh.

~*~

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and blinked to clear her blurry vision. She found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, and immediately bolted upright, before remembering where she was. With a sigh of pleasure, she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes, as her mind replayed the events of the previous night. After their embrace, she had admitted to Van that she was feeling tired, and he had suggested that she go to bed, and they talk more in the morning.

_Well, it's morning now_, the brunette thought, hopping gaily out of bed. A light breeze fluttered in through the window, drawing her attention to the rising sun. She grimaced. _Since when have I woken up this early since leaving Gaea?_ She flung her jacket over her shoulder, put on her sneakers, and opened the door to her guest room. A dim light from the hallway filtered into the room, adding to the pinkish light soaring in through the window. She peered around the edge of her door before stepping out into the hallway, closing the door gently behind her.

Cursing herself for not paying attention to where she had been going last night, when Van had been leading her to the guest room, she wandered hopelessly through the corridor, wincing every time her foot hit a squeaky spot in the wooden floorboards. The last thing she wanted to to arouse the entire palace, especially if she was the first one awake.

She tiptoed down the staircase, still clueless as to where she was in the castle. She paused when she reached the bottom of the stairwell, trying her best to visualize of map of the royal palace in her head. Her concentration was broken by a loud, joyous cry:

"Hitomi!"

Before she had time to react, a orange and pink ball slammed into her chest, knocking her into the wall. Catching her breath, Hitomi glanced down at an all-too-familiar head of curly pink hair and felt a small smile spread on her face.

"Hitomi, when did you get here?" Merle looked up at her with wide, sparkling blue eyes, and grinned broadly, baring tiny fangs. "Why didn't you come to say hello?" Still latched on to Hitomi's waist, she began to bounce up and down. Hitomi winced in discomfort and tried to pry Merle's arms off of her, without success. Still grinning, Merle unattached herself from Hitomi's midsection and bounced around the girl in circles. "When did you get here, Hitomi?" she repeated.

"Last night, really late," Hitomi replied, constantly turning her head so she could see the cat-girl. "Really, really late. I guess Van didn't want to wake anyone up." She sighed and gave up trying to look the cat-girl in the face; she was getting dizzy. "I didn't think anyone would be up this early," she added.

Merle stopped bouncing and stood on her tiptoes so as to stare Hitomi in the eye. "Van-sama is awake," she said, as though that were an adequate answer.

"Oh, umm…"

"Good morning, Hitomi," a voice said warmly. Hitomi looked up. Leaning against the wall, one hand stuffed in his pocket, was the king of Fanelia. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Hitomi answered immediately, just as Merle pounced on Van with a loud, "Van-sama!" With a grunt, the boy was knocked to the ground, with no chance to move before Merle starting licking his face immensely. Hitomi could not help but laugh, as she watched him twist and turn in futile attempts to get his childhood friend off of him. Finally, Merle jumped away and scampered noisily down the hallway.

Van stood up, wiping the cat saliva off his face with the back of his gloved hand. He grimaced, and Hitomi nearly doubled over in laughter. He stared at her, blinking in puzzlement. "What's so funny?"

Hitomi managed to calm down a bit, and leaned back against the wall. "I'm sorry, but it was the way you looked. She had quite a hold on you," she giggled. Van smiled and moved to stand beside her. He gently stroked her cheek with one hand—not the hand that he had used to wipe his face—and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. Her laughter halted, as she turned to stare at him. The softness in his eyes melted her heart into a river of hot liquid.

"It's so good to have you back," he said softly, caressing her cheek with his finger. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, before resuming his caresses. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

Hitomi smiled. "If you missed me as much as I missed you, then I probably have an idea," she said. She grabbed the hand that was caressing her cheek and placed it at his side. Wrapping her arms tightly around the boy's neck, she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.

Van tensed, then slowly sank into the kiss, his eyelids fluttering shut. His idle hands moved to circle her waist, pulling her closer to him. When her fingers tangled themselves in his unruly black hair, pulling roughly, he hardly noticed. He was enchanted by the feeling of her soft, warm lips against his own; by the taste of her warm, sweet breath. One hand left her waist to press against the small of her back, pulling her even closer. In response, her grip on his neck tightened, bringing his head down further.

After what seemed like an eternity, though it was an eternity that was all too short, they slowly broke apart, never taking their eyes off each other. Hitomi's cheeks were flushed, and she smiled brightly at the young king. Van, in return, stroked her cheek with his finger and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you, Hitomi."

"I love you, too, Van."

~*~

Adibah stepped out of the conference room, the queen on her heels. The five beast-children looked up at her, and she smiled wanly.

"My children, come. If there is anyone you wish to say goodbye to, I'm sorry to say that you have little time. The moment of your departure draws near."

~*~

To Be Continued… 

~*~

**Medatsu**: Thank you for reviewing again! ^_^ And I know you said I was the pro. *is still blushing* I was responding to your review, and thanking you. (Aw, I'm not _that_ much of a pro. *fiddles thumbs*)

What happened to all the other readers? *gets teary-eyed* Is it the summary?

Next chapter, coming soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_; it is the sole property of Studio Sunrise and anyone else who participated in its creation. I own the Nya'torians. That is all. Anyone stupid enough to sue me shall find themselves dashing away with their tail end smoking.**

~~*****~~

**Chapter 4: Intruders**

Hitomi stared in awe at the palace. She had not noticed it last night it—it had been too dark—but now that the sun was high in the sky, she was able to take in its beauty. She was so entranced that she forgot, for a brief moment, that she was not on the ground, but up in the air, in Van's arms; when she had asked to see the palace from afar, he had immediately unfurled his wings and, with Hitomi in his arms, had flown right out a window, much to the horror of the maids.

White feathers scatted in an unannounced rush of air, as Van flapped his great wings. He bounced a little in midair, breaking Hitomi's reverie. She gasped and tightened the hold her legs had around his waist. If she was not already in danger of cutting on Van's air supply, she would have tightneed her grip around his neck, as well. Van chuckled at her fear and shifted her more comfortably in his arms.

"I'm not going to drop you," he said, his breath tickling her ear. He smiled warmly. "Do you like it?" He jerked his head towards the castle. "They worked so hard these past months…" He looked below them, at the city. Even from this height, they could hear the machinery working as people hustled to rebuild the kingdom.

"I can't blame them," Hitomi said, daring to look down. "If my home had burnt to the ground, and I had spent many months hiding in the mountains, I'd want to rebuild it as fast as possible, too." She looked back at the palace, her gaze distant. "I don't remember it looking that nice last time I saw it," she murmured.

"Last time you saw it, Hitomi, it was in ruins," Van reminded her, trying to ignore the dull ache in his heart. It had hurt to see his country burn to the ground on his coronation day….and it had hurt even more to witness the death of one of the only people he had ever cared for. He swallowed hard, and shook his head. _Bother me when I'm in the mood to be miserable, not when I'm trying to enjoy my life_, he commanded the memories, shoving them ruthlessly into the back of his mind.

Hitomi nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, sighing with content as a refreshing mountain breeze rushed past them, playing with their hair and scattering more stray feathers. Daring to release one arm from around his neck, Hitomi caught a feather as it floated past her, and twirled it between her forefinger and thumb. A soft smile played on her lips.

"Is there anything else you would like to see?" Van asked, twisting his head so he could see her face. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her rosy cheeks and the sparkle of contentment in her eyes. If that were not enough, her smile was like a flamethrower on his heart, melting the beating organ to a mere pool of hot, bloody liquid.

"Mmm…what else is there to see?" was the mumbled reply. "You've already shown me the palace, and the city…" She trailed off. Her fingers lightly brushed the base of his wings. An icy chill of pleasure shot up the boy's spine, and he shivered lightly.

"I don't think you've seen the mountainside," he said.

Hitomi mumbled something incoherent, before lifting her head slightly to smile wearily at him. "No, I haven't," she said, her voice like a whisper on the wind. Her head returned to its place in the crook of his neck. "I wouldn't mind soaring over the treetops, seeing what the birds see," she added softly, then her smile widened. "You're lucky; you can do this whenever you want. The closest I can get to a birdseye view is by going to the roof of a skyscraper."

"'Skyscraper'?" Van stumbled over the foreign word.

Hitomi giggled softly. "Never mind," she whispered.

Shifting her slightly in his arms, he flapped his great wings and soared towards the forests of the mountain.

~*~

Muniya leaned back against the rough bark of the tree, her legs curled to her chest. Her amber eyes were focused on her traveling companions, who were currently sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Adibah had told them that the teleportation process would leave them feeling weak, and they might possibly loose consciousness. What she had neglected to tell them was that there was a stomach-hurling spin through the air involved before they landed on the ground. Muniya, who was more than used to hurtling through the air—every bird-person went through that when leaning how to fly—had been the first to regain consciousness after they had landed. But the others were still out cold.

With an inaudible sigh, Muniya turned her eyes to the skies above. Every planet had the same sky: bright blue and cloudless when the sun was shining brightly, and heavy, thick, and gray when it threatened precipitation. Right now the sky, at least in this part of Gaea, was bright blue with a few clouds floating leisurely by. A gentle mountain breeze whizzed by, tugging on her long hair. She brushed the straying strands out of her eyes and allowed one of her rare smiles to curl her lips. She spread her wings and let the wind seep through the feathers. Her eyes fluttered shut; it was such a joyous feeling.

"You don't have to watch over us," a deep, spitty voice said. Muniya's eyes snapped open, and her eyes riveted to focus on the reptile-boy. Propped up on one elbow, Nyoka stared calmly back at her, his hair draping over his striped face. A tiny smile curled one side of his mouth. He sat up straight, stretching his legs. His tail brushed across the grass, kicking up bits of dirts as it raked the tip across the earth. His gaze never left Muniya's face.

"Who says I was watching over you?" Muniya countered, narrowing her eyes. For some reason, she felt she had to be cautious around this boy; perhaps it was old animal instincts taking over. Reptiles sometimes ate birds, and birds sometimes ate reptiles; so the two classes had always been wary of each other.

Nyoka raised himself to his hands and knees and covered the few yards between them at a crawl. He plopped down next to her, his tail wrapping around his waist. _She's rather a study_, he thought to himself. Tearing his eyes away from her white face, he gazed up at the sky, studying the position of the sun with thin, dilated pupils. He looked back at the ground, blinking away the brightly colored dots that clouded his vision.

"It's almost noontime," he stated, rubbing his eyes with one scaly fist. He pushed his thick forelock away from his face and glanced at the three unconscious mammals. "Do you think we should wake them up?" he asked the bird-girl, in a spitty whisper that sounded like he was hissing—something only a reptile could accomplish. "It shall take at least an hour, hopefully not more, to reach Fanelia, and that is just the gate; we do not know how deep into the kingdom we shall have to travel to reach the palace."

Muniya glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you thinking of the royal guards?" she asked, turning to face him completely. "It won't be very easy to bypass them."

Nyoka closed his eyes briefly, raising one claw to his temple. "Yes, I am," he sighed. "I'm not sure the others have considered this quite yet, but I don't think the royal guards will let five unfamiliar creatures pass by their gates with a simple greeting."

Muniya nodded but said nothing. She crossed her legs, placed her hands on her taloned feet, and stared down at her lap, her shoulders hunched. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders to pool in her lap.

"I am frightened," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I am afraid of what is going to happen to us, Nyoka." She ducked her head in shame. "But this fear…it's shameful. This is my destiny, and I cannot back away from it, even if I wish to." Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "But what if…what if…" She could not bring herself to complete the sentence. She squinched her eyes shut and swallowed her tears. _No, I cannot cry. What would Mama and Papa say if they saw me like this?_

She gasped as she felt a claw lightly touch her shoulder, then brush her hair back. She turned her head and found herself staring into Nyoka's golden orbs.

"You're not the only one," he said, sounding ashamed of himself, as well. "I, too, am afraid of what might happen. But look at it this way: At least you're not alone." He smiled, and she smiled in return.

~*~

It was with exhausted eyes that the five Nya'torians caught glimpse of the splendor of Fanelia's construction. They had been traveling all day—it had taken more than the hour they had predicted, due to a wrong turn they took when they tried to bypass a river too wide for the mammals to cross—and were now ready to collapse; only their aching bellies, long since empty, pressed them forward, in hopes of finding food.

Kirra mentally cursed their stupidity. Why had they not thought of packing food earlier?

"Why didn't we pack food earlier?" Aurelia complained, voicing Kirra's thoughts. She had one hand pressed to her forehead; she had awakened with a splitting headache that had only worsened as their journey lengthened. She whimpered and closed her eyes, halting in her tracks. "And why did I have to hit such a hard rock upon landing?"

"Oh shut up and quit complaining," Kirra snapped; her string of patience was about to break, and she was in no mood to listen to anyone whine about their misfortunes. "The more you complain, the worse you feel. Come on." She led the way, shoving past Muniya and Nyoka, the only two members of their party who had yet to say a word, though they had to be as hungry as the other three.

"No shoving her around, it only makes her headache worse," Urufu snarled, his ears flattening on his head. He wrapped one arm protectively around the dog-girl, who let out a tiny whimper and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Keep it down, all of you!" Nyoka hissed, a forked tongue flicking out of his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he searched the surrounding forest. "I ssssenssse ssssomething…" He drew out each word with a low, snake-like hiss, his tongue continuously flicking between his lips. It took Kirra a few seconds to remember that lizards 'tasted' the air with their tongues.

Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by weapons: bows and arrows, swords, staves, knives. Her ears folding back on her head, Kirra unsheathed her claws and prepared to defend herself; but she was stopped by a tap on the shoulder by Muniya. She hissed at the bird-girl. _What does she think she's doing?_ she thought. _We're under attack!_

"Stop in the name of Fanelia!" a deep, human voice rumbled. An armored man stepped out from behind the trees, a sword raised. He eyed the group warily, and Kirra could not blame him. For a brief moment she felt a surge of hatred towards Muniya and Nyoka; the bird-girl and lizard-boy were the reasons the warriors were looking at their party so strangely.

"What do you want?" the soldier demanded, pointing his sword at them. At his gesture, the clink of metal was heard, and about twenty more swords and knives brandished themselves from between the leaves high in the trees. Kirra cursed under her breath; they were completely surrounded. Muniya could not even hope to escape by flying. _Charming…_

"We are here under orders from our leader to see the king," Urufu said, putting authority in his voice and hiding his starvation. He looked around at each and every piece of metal aimed at them with a calmness that fitted a dignitary, not a young boy.

The soldier barked out his laughter. "You? See the king? What leader would send young _beast_-people as ambassadors?" He laughed heartily, and his men joined him. Kirra felt a surge of anger, and only by placing a hand on her shoulder did Aurelia keep her from flying at the men with her claws brandished like tiny knives. However, even the dog-girl's firm grip on the cat's shoulder could not stop Kirra's fur from bristling, or her ears from flattening. The soldiers took one look at the obviously ready-to-fight cat-girl, and their laughter deadened.

"What do you think you're doing? How _dare_ you!" their leader roared. "Men, seize them!" With roars of anger and satisfaction, the warriors surrounded the five youths. They tied them with ropes, then trotted them towards the palace, their leader bouncing alongside them.

"You shall rue the day you set foot in Fanelia!" he declared.

~*~

**To Be Continued…**

~*~

I apologize for taking _sooo_ long to update. I don't know what has gotten into me! *smacks forehead* (BAD dragon!) Anyway, hopefully, from now on, the updates shall be sooner, and I may start elongating the chapters, as well. In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this.

**SabineballZ**: One of them falling in love with Merle? *taps chin in thought* Hmmm…I never thought of that… Maybe I could work that in somehow… (Thank you! ^_^) And yes, that kiss was beautiful. (If there's one thing I'm really good at writing, it's fluff. Maybe that's because I read and watch so much of it! ^_^)

**darkcherry**: One of the best writers on fanfiction.net? *blushes furiously* I wouldn't really say that but…thank you. (Ack! Why can't I stop blushing?!) As for how they're going to stop the Kalryn's Devil… Well, isn't that one of the mysteries of this story? Telling you now would spoil it… (Besides, I'm still working on that part…) But I'll remember your warning. I _never_ want to incure the wrath of my readers! *shakes head furiously* That's NOT a good thing!

**fallen-dark-angel**: Well, it would hurt me to see a reviewer so upset because I didn't include a character she really wanted…I don't know if I'll include Dilandau or not. I'll probably include Celena, since she's Allen's sister, and I'm undoubtly going to be forced to include the knight-in-shining-armor. (What's _Escaflowne_ without Allen, eh? Is he not one of the main characters?) This _is_, after all, somewhat of a "sequel" to the anime—and remember what happened to Dildandau in the anime? I may include Dildandau, but I can't guarantee it… (You may want to cross your fingers? ^_~)

**Again, thank you very much to everyone who reviewed. And for the rest of you…I'm not going to say it—I don't think I need to. (Nor do I need to remind you that I am a _fire-breathing_ dragon…do I?) In any case, I must ask all of you for patience: Things may slow down a tiny bit, due to this mortal thing called "school" starting soon, and my muses claiming that they must attend if they want to get into "college." (I shall never understand mortals…) So I request everyone's patience, if that's not too much to ask.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: How many times must I say this? _The Vision of Escaflowne_ is not mine, will never be, and anyone who tries to sue me shall run away with their tail end smoking! **stomps away, exasperated****

~~*****~~

**Chapter 5: Foreigners**

Van shifted his position slightly, struggling to keep from awakening the sleeping girl in his lap. He had taken joy in soaring above the treetops, pointing out certain aspects of the mountain…only to find that the wingless angel he carried with him had fallen asleep long ago. He had landed a distance away from the palace, where he could see it but the servants wandering the grounds could not see him. He curled his arms around Hitomi and pulled her closer to him, circling the both of them with his wings. The mountain breeze that played with his hair and wing feathers gently brushed back the hair from her closed eyes framed by long lashes. He gently stroked her cheek with his forefinger, pausing to bend down and plant a soft kiss on her temple.

His kiss slowly aroused her, and she opened her eyes to gaze at him lovingly. She sat up straight, stretching her arms with a wide yawn, and blinked sleepily. She took in her surroundings, her blinking turning from sleepiness to curiosity.

"Van? Where are we?" she asked, leaning back against his bare chest. She felt his arms tighten around her midsection, and lazily drummed her fingers on his forearms.

"The mountains that surround Fanelia," the boy replied, nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek. "Do you like it?" Freeing one hand from Hitomi's drumming, he gestured to the foliage: lush, leafy trees, some adorning rich fruits; cattails and tall grasses; tiny late-autumn flowers…. Hitomi nodded appreciatively; it was beautiful.

"I love it," she said, capturing Van's arm and securing it firmly around her waist again. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. "You know I love Fanelia and everything around it, Van. And that I love her king even more." She turned her head to grin at him, amused to see a faint blush on his cheeks. She squirmed until he loosened his grip, and then turned around in his lap until she was facing him. "Shy-boy," she teased, kissing the corner of his mouth. She moved to kiss his lips, and felt him deepen the kiss, his hands caressing her back. When she broke it, his face was the color of blood, and he looked everywhere but at her. She stuck her tongue at him and mumbled another "shy-boy" before relaxing against his body. She reached behind him and played with the base of his wings; he did not even try to stop her.

"Van-sama!" Merle's high-pitched cry broke their peaceful, romantic reverie, and Hitomi was ready the throttle the pink-haired furball. "Van-sama, Ayseth wants to see you!" Merle continued shouting as she approached them. With a long, exasperated sigh and a look of apology at Hitomi, the young king rose to his feet, spreading his wings at their widest. He offered a hand to Hitomi. She accepted, and he hauled her effortlessly to her feet.

Merle looked back and forth between the two lovebirds, and shoved her hands on her hips, clucking her tongue. "You should not be playing around here in the mountains when there are prisoners who are demanding to see the king," she scolded playfully. "Ayseth said he wants you to come down right away if it's not too much trouble. His men found some wanderers on the border…and, well, it's a long story; but basically, according to Ayseth's men, these prisoners weren't too keen on being dragged to the dingiest dungeon and locked up with at least a dozen swordsmen sticking spears between the bars."

Van blinked as he tried to follow the cat-girl's quick, careless speech.When she finished, he blinked again and nodded slowly. _Prisoners who won't do anything until they see me… I think I got the gist of that_, he thought.

"Van-sama!" Merle admonished, springing on him.

"Hold on to your tail, Merle-chan," Van said. "Tell Ayseth I'll meet him in the dungeons in a few minutes."

Half an hour later, Van descended the creaky steps to the dingy underground dungeons that were spread out below the servants' quarters on the bottom floor of the palace. The entire dungeon was constructed with hard stone that could not be pierced by weaponry; only an explosion could cause the dungeon walls to give way.

"I really don't like this place," Hitomi muttered between chattering teeth. She wrapped her arms around herself firmly. Despite the fact that the weather outside was comfortable, even if a bit chilly, the dungeons had to be well below freezing; Hitomi felt as though she would turn into an ice cube if she remained still for even a millisecond.

Van smiled at her, and the warmth in that gesture seemingly melted some of the bitter cold; Hitomi felt warmth spread through her body like liquid, and she gazed admiringly at the young king.

"I'm sorry," Van said, the warmth of his smile increasing. "But it's always this way down here: below freezing in the winter, and as hot as the fires of hell in the summer." His shoulders shook with silent laughter. "At least it keeps the prisoners under check," he laughed heartily, the noise bouncing off the walls like a ping-pong ball. His gaity spread, and Hitomi could not help but laugh with him.

The king's laughter subsided as the clinking sound of metal on stone drew near. A few seconds later, a soldier rounded the corner and saluted to the king.

"Ayseth," Van greeted the head of the Fanelian guard. "Where are these prisoners?"

"This way, Your Majesty," Ayseth said. With a bow, he led the two teenagers threw weaving twists and turns, to what seemed like the very end of the dungeon. _We must be at the opposite end of the castle now_, Hitomi thought, shivering as the cold enveloped her. She felt sudden warmth in the form of an arm being wrapped around her shoulders, and smiled gratefully at Van. He waved a hand dismissively and flashed her a lopsided grin.

"Here we are, Your Majesty." Ayseth gestured to the stall in front of him, and Van stepped up to the bars. He was greeted with five pairs of bright eyes, one of which looked remarkably snake-like. He blinked, and almost backed away. _What are these people? They certainly aren't human. But then they must be…_ He peered closer, narrowing his eyes, and heard a low growl, followed by a light _thwap_ and a tiny yelp.

Taking a deep breath, he allowed his voice to carry as far as it willed. "Who are you, and why have you come here?" he demanded, keeping all skepticism and whatever fear may be lying unnoticed beneath his skin out of his voice; he shoved authority into his tone and adopted a royal demeanor he knew was much more suited to an older man than to a boy.

There was the sound of soft footsteps padding across the floor, and one of the pairs of eyes—a bright, shocking green—moved forward. The figure stepped into the light, and Van found himself blinking in mild surprise. The green eyes narrowed, as the figure bared sparkling white fangs. Black fur bristled, and a bushy tail stuck straight out, as though it were a stick covered in tough hairs. Velvety black ears flattened back, disappearing in thick, straight black hair that, Van suddenly noticed, fell past the figure's waist in a long, loose ponytail.

It was a cat-girl.

Behind him, he heard Hitomi whisper softly, "What's this?" The cat-girl tossed her head, her ears perking forward. She placed one hand delicately on her hip, drawing Van's attention to her attire. A short, cream-colored tube top and hip-hugging pants left her furry midriff exposed. A loose gold cloth was draped over her hips, bunching up at her tailbone; her tail waved at the air behind her.

"We are from another land," the cat-girl said slowly, her voice thickly accented. "We are more than willing to tell you where we are from; but we cannot do so in the presence of your guards. We are directed to speak only to Van Slanzar de Fanel, His Majesty of Fanelia, and Kanzaki Hitomi, of Earth, or the Mystic Moon. You are King Van and Miss Kanzaki, are you not?"

_How does this person know my full name? And how does he know Hitomi's name for her homeland? No one on Gaea knows the Mystic Moon as 'Earth,'_ Van thought. _Who _are_ these people?_

"Yes, I am King Van of Fanelia. Who are you?" he said. "And what business do you have here?"

The cat-girl paused, glancing over her shoulder at her still-hidden companions. She nodded, and turned back to the king. "I am permitted only to tell you my name, but where we are from, and what business we have here, is saved for the ears of you and your lady only. No one else is permitted to hear this." She shot a dangerous glare at the guards, who cringed and aimed their spears at her face. She did not flinch. "My name is Kirra, and that is all I am allowed to say, Your Majesty."

"How dare you mock our king!" Ayseth growled, his eyes flashing.

"That's enough, Ayseth," Van said firmly, his eyes never leaving the cat-girl's face. "Fine then, Kirra, if that is how you wish it, then I shall grant you a private conference with myself and Hitomi. And we shall not be accompanied by any of the guards." He directed this last statement mainly at Ayseth and his men, who seemed apt to rip the prisoners' insides out if it were allowed. "See to it that they reach the conference room, and then leave them there," he instructed the men, before turning on his heels and walking away. "I shall expect them there within the hour," he called back, without turning around.

~*~

That one hour later found Van sitting in the high chair in the conference room. As usual, he had not bothered to change into anything suited to royalty, but insisted on wearing his ordinary red sleeveless shirt and khaki pants. He leaned forward on his elbows, drumming his fingertips on the marble table in beat to his humming.

Beside him, Hitomi was a bundle of nerves. Something about Kirra's sharp gaze had poked her neurons, and now she was having the worst time trying to sit still. She clenched and unclenched her hands in her lap, twisting the fabric of her pants until it nearly torn. She forced herself to relax and listen to Van's soft humming. She glanced at him; he had his eyes closed and was tilting his head from side to side in beat to the song. He looked so…content. It did not fit. How could he be so calm? Hitomi sighed.

Van's humming paused, and he glanced at her questioningly. When she shrugged and looked away, he leaned back and looked at the clock that hung over the double doors.

"Ayseth's late," he murmured, clicking his tongue softly, as if trying to match the ticking of the clock. "I wonder if he and his men had that much trouble with the prisoners…?"

As if on cue, Ayseth burst into the room, bowed hastily, then turned and beckoned. About a half dozen of his men marched into the room, saluted, then dropped their luggage on the ruby carpet. Van stood and leaned over the table to get a good look at the 'luggage'…and nearly did a double-take. He did not know what he had expected of Kirra's companions when he had first laid eyes on the black cat-girl, but whatever it was, it certainly was not…this.

Hitomi stared at the newcomers, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. She, too, did not know what she had expected, but she was certain that this was the last thing on her list. At the most, she had assumed that Kirra was traveling with others of her kind, or at least with other beasts. And knowing how odd the beast-folk could look here on Gaea, she had set herself to expect the unexpected.

Well, this was the unexpected, but she certainly had not expected it.

Kirra was the first to rise, and she glared challengingly at the king and Hitomi, as if daring them to make any comment on what lay before their eyes. At Van's gesture, she took the seat across the squared marble table from him, her eyes never leaving his face. For one brief moment, she glanced at Hitomi, and the Earthling felt a chill shoot up her spine. She averted her gaze, and found herself staring at the cat-girl's companions.

She had seen wolf-people before, but this wolf-boy did not look anything like Ruhm and his pack. His fur was white, like the Artic wolves found on Earth. There was no trace of human in his face, unlike with Gaea's wolf-folk; his entire face was wolf. The long muzzle ending in a wet-looking black nose… The slanted amber eyes… The triangular-shaped ears that rotated back and forth in their sockets…

Beside him was a dog-girl, who looked like a cross between a Siberian Husky and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, with the spaniel's markings. She had the long muzzle and slanted eyes of a husky, but her ears were long and floppy, like a spaniel's, and she had a white stripe down the center of her head that broke through the creamy-red of her fur.

As for the other two inhabitants of the room, Hitomi was speechless. One had enormous golden-brown wings that reminded her of the golden eagle, and bright amber eyes that darted the way she imagined a bird's eyes would. Her face was pure-white, but it did not look ghostly. Her long black hair was stick-straight and thin, and fell over her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall. Her nose was pointed, like a beak, and Hitomi had a feeling that her feet, hidden by her draping gown, were taloned.

The second was a boy, and Hitomi had to admit that he was interesting to look at, if not downright frightening. A long, thick, scaly tail floated in the air behind him; but instead of being green, as Hitomi would have thought it would be, it was dark blue with black speckles. Two dark blue stripes ran down the side of his face, drawing attention to his reptile-like golden eyes and green-tinted skin. Thick black hair trailed down in back in a narrow tail. Hitomi noticed that his arms were the same color as his tail, and shuddered when her eyes fell on the sharp, lethal claws at the ends of his fingertips.

"What the hell…?" Van muttered.

Kirra leaned back in her chair and cocked her head, her eyes never leaving Van's face. "Now that we are alone, I am free to answer any and all questions you may have." For the first time, Hitomi noticed how thick her accent was, and was silently grateful for the fact that she was speaking so slowly that it was almost unnerving; otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible to understand her.

"First, I demand to know where you are from," Van said coldly. Hitomi looked at him, and was taken aback. It was as though someone had painted a thin coat of frozen, dried blood over the king's eyes.

The cat-girl was unfazed; she simply tilted her head in the other direction. "We are neither from Earth nor Gaea, but a third world, Nya'tory," she said, in that agonizingly slow speech.

"Nya'tory?" Van stumbled over the foreign word.

Kirra nodded. "A world invisible to those who are not aware of its existence. We can both Earth and Gaea from our skies. We can even see Earth's moon," she added, her gaze flickering briefly towards Hitomi. The brunette felt a cold chill shoot up her spine, as those mystical emerald orbs focused on her.

"Are you all from the same country?" Hitomi ventured, trying to shake off the chill the cat-girl's mystical gaze left behind.

"We do not have 'countries,'" a deep, warm voice rumbled: the wolf-boy. He was standing behind and to the right of Kirra, one furry hand gripping the back of her chair. "Our world is one entire kingdom, not divided, like yours are. We are all under the rule of one monarch, who has what you might call 'governers' stationed around the kingdom, to keep an eye on things. Our wars are clan-oriented; not everyone is involved."

Van raised an eyebrow. "And how do these 'governers' report to your ruler?" he said, finding it hard to believe what they were saying. _How can an entire world be under the rule of one person? _he thought. _That's next to impossible, unless their world is the size of a floating fortress._

The beast-people stared at him, as though he were the stupidest creature in the world. Van felt a surge of anger that quickly dissapated. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and stared hard at the cat-girl, who had yet to look away from him. It was as though her eyes were glued in place.

The response was a simple word from Kirra's mouth: "Magic."

_Oh no, not this again_, Hitomi groaned mentally. _I've had enough of magic and spells to last me a lifetime. I don't want anymore._

"Before we go any further," Kirra said, "it may help you to know that we are all inhabitants of the royal palace of Nya'tory, in the Court of Her Majesty Queen Alakana. Our parents are members of the Court, or members of the royal guard."

_Members of the royal guard and royal court? Does that make them nobility?_ Hitomi wondered. She glanced at Van; this was something he would know more than she would.

"And will you tell me your names?" Van said politely, though it was more of a demand than a request. "Your full names, if you will," he added suspiciously.

"Kirra Noir'chatte," the cat-girl said. She pointed to each of her companions in turn. "Urufu Oo'kami, Aurelia Chie'nyne, Muniya Syor'aves, and Nyoka Vaye'ocard."

Van sighed mentally. _I was hoping for more than that, such as what position their parents hold; and I was hoping that they would each introduce themselves. But I guess that's better than nothing_, he thought, resisting the urge to press for more. "And what business do you have here? Why have you come to Gaea, and why did you refuse to speak to the guards? Why must Hitomi and I be the only ones to hear you out?"

Suddenly, Kirra's face changed. Her eyes darkened, and her mouth formed a thin, straight line. Her ears flattened on her skull, diving beneath her thick hair. She sat up straight in her chair, as though wooden boards had been pressed against her body, prohibiting movement. When she spoke, she sounded as though her vocal cords had been shoved underneath thick tissue; her voice was low and throaty, her tone bone-chilling. And she said only two words:

"Kalryn's Devil."

~~*****~~

**To Be Continued…**

~~*****~~

I know this took me forever to update (if one wishes to count eight days as "forever") and I'm terribly, terribly sorry for keeping everyone waiting. Thank you for being so patient. But due to the my suddenly very busy schedule, I won't be able to update as frequently as I (and undoubtly you) would like. In fact, I may be able to update only on weekends—though, unfortunately, I can't guarantee updates every weekend. I am going to try to make each chapter longer, so you have more to enjoy when I do update, but that will make the update dates farther apart. So bear with me, please. You shall be rewarded in the end.

**fallen-dark-angel**: Of course I can mention him. What makes you think I can't? ^_~

**SabineballZ**: *sigh* A shame that part of this chapter had already been pre-written, otherwise I would've encorporated your idea into this. Ah well… I'm glad you enjoyed this. ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: (How many times must I say this?) _The Vision of Escaflowne_ does not belong to me. I own only the Nya'torians, as well as Ayseth. So if anyone dares to sue me, or tries to steal my characters, they shall find themselves dashing out of my lair, with body parts smoking (and they will be shrieking at the top of their lungs).**

~~*****~~

**Chapter 6: Anxiety**

Hitomi sat cross-legged by the edge of a lake, her hands clenched around the rustling material of her jacket. She clamped her teeth down on her bottom lip, willing herself not to break down and cry. _I need to stay calm. _She rubbed her arm where she had pinched herself earlier; she had had an urge to make sure she was not dreaming, that what Kirra had told her was actually real.

She and Van were in danger of having not only their love vanquished, but their emotions used as a source of destruction for three inhabited worlds. It was her worst nightmare come true.

A traiterous tear rolled down her cheek, and she swiped at it with a trace of annoyance mixed with rising anger and frustration. Why did everything have to happen to her, and to those she loved? First it was that damned Destiny War, which destroyed the hearts and souls of thousands; and now this? It was a mental overload, and she was starting to feel its weight.

"Kanzaki-sama?" Hitomi jumped and twisted around. Aurelia's soft brown eyes gazed solemnly back at her, a mixture of guilt and sympathy swirling in their depths. The dog-girl immediately bowed her head. "I did not mean to startle you. I simply wanted to apologize."

Hitomi blinked, puzzled. "Apologize?"

Aurelia nodded. "For what my companion did. Kirra is not the most sympathetic of beings; if anything, she is just the opposite. I wanted to apologize for the harsh way she delivered the news to you." Her ears folded back submissively, and she let out a tiny whine. "And I am sorry that it has to end up this way, when you barely had time to recover from…past events."

Hitomi averted her gaze. "It's not your fault," she said, her voice barely audible. "And you don't have to apologize for your companion. That's not right."

Aurelia smiled ruefully. "But the guilt still lies within," was all she said.

"So how many of us are going on this mission?" Hitomi asked. The "mission" she was referring to was a quest to find and defeat this mysterious being known as the "Kalryn's Devil." Just the prospect of trying to find something that used emotions as a source of energy, and was after _her_ emotions, was enough to make her want to return to Earth as soon as possible.

Aurelia plopped down in the soft grass, arching her back and stretching her legs. "Did Kirra not tell you about the Seven? That would be you, His Majesty, Kirra, Urufu, myself, Muniya, and Nyoka." She paused, leaning forward to touch her toes. "It may not be safe to permit others to accompany us. However, if there are some you wish to have by your side during this journey, then I do not see why it cannot be allowed, as long as they are aware of the dangers they may cross beforehand." She paused, then smiled. "Urufu has already spoken to His Majesty, who claims that the little pink-haired feline who follows him would throw a fit were she left behind."

In spite of the anxiety and fear built up inside of her, Hitomi could not help but let out a bark of laughter. "Yes, Merle is that way," she agreed. "Always follows 'Van-sama' everywhere. She can get really annoying, but she's really not that bad."

"I just hope she and Kirra can get along," Aurelia said. "Both are very headstrong, and Kirra has no patience for annoying people."

"They may just have to live with it, because I don't think Merle would forgive me if I left her behind," a voice said from behind them. Both girls turned around, to find themselves looking at a rather calm-looking Van. One hand rested on his hip; the other dangled at his side. His head was cocked to one side, and there was a charming sparkle in his eyes. His gaze never left Hitomi's laughter-flushed face. The sparkle in his eyes brightened until it looked like dozens of tiny diamonds, as the brunette giggled girlishly. He sat down next to Hitomi and put an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, her eyelids fluttering shut.

Aurelia watched them with a knowing smile on her face. _It's hard not to see how much they love each other_, she thought, a pleasurable sparkle in her eyes. Suddenly, the smile on her face faded. She glanced at the still water in front of them, before shifting her gaze to the brightly lit, cloudless sky above. _I just hope their love can survive the trials up ahead. _She closed her eyes. _Huf, ni eoaaomh; qtuyrvy emf vjrodj_.

~*~

"What?! We're leaving this afternoon?! Van-sama!" Merle screeched, falling out of her chair. She stared in shock at the young king, who was gazing solemly out the window, the wind playing with his mussed hair. She detangled herself from the chair and sprang over to him. "You're joking, right? Van-sama!" she wailed, clinging to him like a toddler. Prying her arms loose, he set her down on the windowsill and finally turned to look at her.

"Yes, we're leaving this afternoon. No, I'm not joking. Do I look like I'm joking?" Van said sternly. Blinking, Merle looked at him. His jaw was set; his face absent of a smile; his eyes were cold and hard, flashing with the determination he had worn before his gaze had been softened by his love for Hitomi. Her tail twitching in annoyance, Merle hunched her shoulders and stuck out her lower lip in a childish pout.

"Stupid foreigners," she muttered under her breath; but Van heard her.

"If you really don't want to leave this afternoon, then you don't have to come," he said sensibly.

Merle stared at him, horrified. "Van-sama!" she wailed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck; this time, he did not even bother to attempt dislodging her. "What if you get hurt?" she cried. "What if you get _killed_?! Van-sama, you're not leaving without me. You wouldn't do that, would you?" She twisted her head to look him in the eye; Van was slightly shocked to see the tears brewing in her eyes. He reached his hands up to pry her arms away, but changed his mind and simply stared at her.

"How much do you know?" he asked.

Merle situated herself in his lap and leaned her head on his chest. "Kirra told me everything she said she told you," she said, "and said I was too young to accompany you." She hissed. "Too young… That bitch… I'm not to young, am I, Van-sama?"

Van did not answer. Half of him wished for Merle to remain home, where he knew she would be safe; were she to travel with them, there was risk that she would be killed by the Devil's minions. He did not think he would be able to take the stress if _two_ people he cared deeply about were at risk of losing their lives.

The other half of him yearned for her company. Though he would not admit it to anyone, he was slightly nervous about spending a period of time with inhabitants of another planet. True, Hitomi would be there; but even she had admitted to him that she was nervous about it being the two of them, against the five Nya'torians. The presence of something else he was familiar with would be a blessing.

"Van-sama?" Placing her hands on his shoulders, Merle heaved herself onto her knees and looked him straight in the eye. "You're worried about Hitomi-chan, aren't you?" she said, tilting her head slightly. A smile spread on her face, revealing her fangs. "You really do love her, don't you, Van-sama?"

The young king felt a blush rise to his cheeks, and nodded briskly, looking anywhere but at the cat-girl. The last thing he would do was admit that he feared for Merle's life, as well; it would make her all the more determined to accompany him, to prove that she would be of help, and that she was old enough to take care of herself.

Merle scooted out of his lap. "I'm sure she's worried about you, too. There; you can worry together." She paused, then, "Where is Hitomi-chan, anyway?"

"She said she wanted to wander around alone for awhile," Van answered. He rose to his feet. "I'm going to the roof," he announced; and walked out of the room before Merle had a chance to reply.

~*~

A cool breeze fluttered by, playing with his bushy hair. His tail scraped against the shingles behind him. He held one claw up in the air, and felt the wind seep into his finger, sending a comforting chill throughout his hand. He turned his gaze to the bright, cloudless sky above, his pupils contracting as his vision was overwhelmed with brilliant sunlight.

The cracking of the shingles on the edge of the roof broke Nyoka's train of secret thoughts, driving his attention to the dreary gray rooftop. Without thinking twice about the dangerous slope, he rose to his feet and made his way over to the edge, his claws almost involuntarily gripping the shingles.

A sudden rush of air, followed by the scattering of a few fluffy white feathers, cause the reptile to halt in his tracks. It took a few moments before realization dawned, and he sat down right where he was, his arms folded across his chest, ignoring the fact that he was on the most dangerous part of the roof.

There was another rush of air, and then the young king whizzed over the edge of the roof, twirling in midair, as if he were a carefree chick. Great white wings burst forth from his bare shoulderblades, and spread out to their fullest on either side of him. Upon sight of the reptile, Van froze in midair, his eyes bulging, as if in fright.

Nyoka allowed a small smile to curl the corners of his mouth, careful not to bare his fangs. "Always wondered, I have, of a Draconian," he said slowly.

Slowly, Van landed beside him. With another rush of air, his wings vanished. He sat down beside the reptile-boy, just as an enormous gust of wind whooshed by, yanking their hair away from their heads. For the first time, Van noticed the green-tinted, flimsy-looking, pointed ears on the side of Nyoka's head. Those ears… They looked familiar… _What species of reptile has those kind of ears?_ He reached into the back of his mind.

"What species of reptile _are_ you?" he said incredulously.

Nyoka smiled. "Wondering, I was, when Your Majesty would ask me that," he said. "I am a dragon."

Van gaped. _A dragon?_ He immediately thought of the great beasts who wandered the mountain and the valley surrounding Fanelia. Just thinking about those creatures brought back memories of his trial to kingship…along with other memories that, at this moment, he would rather forget. Shaking himself mentally, he shoved those unpleasant things into the back of his mind; no, he would not think about them right now, not when he had other, more important things to worry about.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by an enormous gush of wind shoving past them, sucking away his very breath. It was followed by a whirlwind of golden-brown feathers, and Van blinked in slight confusion. His puzzlement was diminished as Muniya, her wings spread to their fullest, shot over the edge of the roof and landed neatly in front of the young king. She bowed low, her hair sliding over her shoulders to stretch to the shingles. She straightened her body and met Van's eyes.

"I am sorry to bother you two at this time, but Kirra says that we must leave," she said, in her unusual barely-audible voice. "And if we do not hurry, she may lose her temper. I apologize," she added softly, as though she felt it were her fault her feline companion was so impatient and rough.

Van rose to his feet, brushing off his pants the dirt that had traveled with the wind and landed on his clothing. "Think nothing of it," he assured the bird-girl. "I've been up here long enough, anyway." And before she had a chance to answer, he had spread his wings and was gone.

~*~

"My lord, when and where are we to strike next?" said a mysterious, black-clad figure in the darkness. "The queen has already sent out warriors to thwart you; what are you going to do about them?" A black-hooded head lifted slightly; golden eyes peered out from the darkness to stare at the golden throne.

Mounted on the throne was a violet-clad figure, with a blood-red and silver staff balanced against the arm of the throne. A deep, throaty chuckle erupted from beneath the violet hood, bouncing off the dank, cold walls like a ping-pong ball.

"So Her Majesty seeks to thwart me?" a deep voice rumbled menacingly. "Just like her grandfather. So brilliant, and yet, so stupid." Another throaty chuckle, then: "We shall set forth for Gaea this afternoon. Prepare your men, Zychlesk."

"What about Earth, my lord?" the black-clad figure, Zychlesk, ventured nervously.

The mounted figure grabbed the staff suddenly in a black-gloved hand, lifted it over its head, and brought it down hard on the black marble floor. "Imbecile!" the figure roared. "How many times must I tell you not to mention that damned planet again!"

Zychlesk trembled violently and stepped back. "Forgive me, my lord. Forgive me."

The staff clattered to the ground, as the hand disappeared back inside the robes. "We shall strike this afternoon. Get your men ready, Zychlesk. Or I'm leaving them behind." Without another word, the figure rose out of the chair, and floated past Zychlesk, leaving the silver and blood-red staff lying on the marble floor.

"Nobody shall defeat the Kalryn's Devil."

~*~

**To Be Continued…**

~*~

First off, I must thank _everyone_ for your patience. I know it's taken me over a month, and that's ridiculous, but I've suffered writer's block and a very busy schedule. I'm going to try to do better from now on. Next time it takes me forever to update, check my profile, because I put up notices about things like that in my Bio.

**SabineballZ**: Yes, I think it was magic (some form of it, at least).

**aradow**: You can picture Muniya with a beak if you really want to (I don't blame you for doing so); but actually, her face is very human with narrowed bird's eyes and a very pointed nose with narrow nostrils, that resembles a beak.

Thanks to everyone else who read this, even if they did not review. And stay tuned! (Hopefully the next chapter will come out in less than a month!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: _The Vision of Escaflowne_ belongs to Studio ****Sunrise****. The Nya'torians, Ayseth of the Fanelian guard, and my imagination belong to me.**__

~~*****~~

**Chapter 7: Beginning**

Van shoved aside sharp bramble with an exasperated sigh. They had been trampling through the forests of Fanelia for over an hour now, and the only thing that had kept him from flying over the treetops and leaving the forest that way was that the majority of the troupé was incapable of flight.

He muttered a curse under his breath as a low branch scraped his bare chest. Kirra, who had appointed herself leader, had assigned him and Muniya, the only members of the party who could fly, the duty of taking to the sky every now and then to scan the area for dragons—they were, after all, in the great beasts' territory. But to avoid having to constantly remove his shirt whenever Kirra ordered them to take flight, he had simply stuffed the garment in his pants pocket, and thus exposed his skin to the sharp claws of the wilderness.

A cold hand touched his backside, and he flinched. "You ought to take care of yourself more, Van," Hitomi's gentle voice wafted through his ears. "Look at you! Not even watching where you're going…letting the wildneress tear at your skin… Doesn't this hurt?" She poked one of the long scratches that decorated his back. He reached behind him, grabbed hold of her hand, and placed it at her side.

"If you keep poking at it, it'll hurt," he told her, glancing over his shoulder at her. She sighed and moved until she was beside him. "Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine."

Hitomi growled. "Yeah, that's what you said when you merged yourself with Escaflowne and nearly got yourself killed. Stupid." She scrambled over the rocks, muttering a curse when she stubbed her toe. She cast an envious eye on Merle, who was hopping over the rocks as though they were trampolines. If only _she_ were able to do that…

Suddenly, Nyoka let out a loud, very spitty hiss. It took Van a moment to realize that it was a warning. He looked at the dragon-boy, who was staring at something to their right, his tongue flicking out his mouth, his tail switching the air behind him. There was a loud screech as his long claws raked the rock upon which he was perched. His golden eyes were now mere slits, and the stripes on his face seemed to bulge from the skin, like veins popping. He let out another low hiss, and his entire body straightened; his tail shot straight out behind him without warning, almost smacking Urufu, who was standing behind him, in the face.

"We are being watched," Nyoka said, his voice so spitty that it was hard to comprehend his speech. His tail resumed its flicking, and the stripes in his face receded to their normality. He turned to the king. "What are they like, your dragons?" he asked.

"Like that, perhaps?" Urufu said calmly, one furry hand pointing to a spot behind them. As one, they all whirled around, and came face-to-face with an enormous golden land dragon. Van let out a vulgar curse, and unsheathed his sword. _I was hoping we would be able to avoid them, period_, he thought. _No such luck._ He made sure Hitomi was behind them, before adopting a defensive stance.

Nyoka positioned himself in front of the entire group, his body spread out on the rocks like a lizard. His forked tongue lolled out of his mouth, as he spat and hissed at the enemy. He aimed the end of his tail at the dragon, who blinked. Its chest began to glow, and it opened its mouth.

"Duck!" Van screamed, nearly shoving Hitomi to the ground. He heard crashes and the scattering of leaves as the rest of the party collapsed on all fours, and just in time: A fireball flew over their heads, nearly singing the fur off the end of Merle's upright tail. The cat-girl shrieked and curled into a fetal position.

"You could have warned us that your dragons were _fire-breathing dragons, king!" Kirra called out rudely, her tone clipped and agitated._

Van turned his head to glare at her. "What else would they be, water-spouting?" he retorted. She was riding on the edge of his temper. Even the ruffian crew of the _Crusade_ would have treated him with more respect than that, and they respected just about no one.

But Kirra was not listening to him. On her hands and knees, to avoid the waves of fire that shot over their heads, she had crawled over to Merle and yanked on her tail. The pink-haired girl shrieked and bolted upright, nearly hitting her head on a boulder. Van felt a surge of protective anger, and gritted his teeth. Only Hitomi's firm grip on his arm kept him from losing his temper altogether and lashing out at the black cat-girl.

"You insisted on coming with us," Kirra snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Quit hiding like a baby and make use of yourself, damn it."

An ear-deafening roar broke through the argument, as the dragon reared on its hind legs, its chest glowing. Van uttered a low growl. _Once a dragon starts to chase you, you either have to defeat it or be eaten. No one can outrun a determined, angry dragon, even with the world's fastest Guymelef._ Subconsciously he pushed down on Hitomi's head, shoving her face into the ground. Only when she mumbled a protest and clawed at him did he release her with murmured apologies.

"Your Majesty." Urufu's gruff voice said next to his ear. "What is the typical strategy for defeating one of your world's dragons?"

Van eyed dragon's heart and fire pouches. Inside of there lied a drag-energist, and once that was removed, the body of the dragon would vanish. He narrowed his eyes. "You must cut out the energist that lies between its fire pouches, near its heart," he said quietly, almost under his breath. At the wolf's confused look, he sighed and said, "Cut its underside, the belly. That's where the dragon is soft. A sword won't work on its scales."

Suddenly, Nyoka clambered onto a scorched boulder, his tail erect. His eyes were mere golden slits, his pupils so narrow that they were almost invisible. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and let loose a loud, deafening dragon's roar that seemed more befitting for the enormous beast in front of them than for someone of his stature. The dragon stared at him unblinkingly, before responding with another blast of fire. Nyoka toppled off the rock just in time to avoid being cooked. But to Van's surprise, there were no traces of annoyance or anger on his face: he looked perfectly calm, as if he considered this situation the equivalent to a leisurely stroll in the park.

"How can he remain so calm?" Hitomi murmured, voicing his thoughts.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. His stomach sinking with forboding, Van peered over the rocks, only to have his suspicions justified: the dragon was loping toward them awkwardly, wobbling from side to side, its tail swaying back and forth in sync with its movement. Its mouth was wide open, revealing a row of enormous sharp teeth and a slimy, glistening tongue. Van took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword.

There was a flash of blue and black, and suddenly Nyoka was perched on another rock a few meters away, his tail end facing the dragon. The tip of his tail was aimed at the dragon's fire pouches. Nyoka's eyes glowed green and he bared green-tinged fangs. Suddenly, a shot of thick black liquid shot out from his tail and collided with the dragon's fire pouches, just as they started to glow. The dragon let out an ear-breaking screech that echoed throughout the forest, sending the birds crashing out of the treetops.

The dragon's entire stomach seemed to fall apart from the inside out, and the creature collapsed in on itself with a series of disgusting swelching sounds that made faces turn green. Hands clapped over mouths to force down the contents of the stomach; even strong-willed, hard-headed Kirra turned her head away. Muniya's white face turned pine green, and she crouched, her wings folded around her.

A soft sizzling sound encouraged Van to look up, and he was relieved to find that the dragon had vanished. Nyoka stared at the hallows in the ground where it had trampled, and the blue spots on the rocks and tree trunks that were its blood. Van sighed and slid his sword back into its sheath. He helped Hitomi rise to shaking knees, one arm wrapped firmly around her midriff to support her weight. She leaned heavily on his shoulder, her breath short.

"Are you all right?" he whispered softly, stroking her hair. She nodded briefly, before burying her face in his chest, seeking comfort in the warmth of his strong body.

Merle bounded over and latched onto Van's free arm, keeping him from wrapping both arms around Hitomi like he would have wanted to. He sighed and placed a hand on Merle's shoulder, as the feline sought comfort by nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder.

"Van-sama…what just happened?" Merle asked childishly.

Urufu inadvertently answered her question by inquiring Nyoka, "Since when did your poison turn black? I thought it was green."

Nyoka turned his tail over in his hand, his face still impassive. "It…was…" he said quietly, his speech interrupted by his forked tongue, which consistently flicked in and out of his mouth. He flexed his tail and bent it so the triangular tip was pointing toward the sky. He eyed it curiously, watching the sunlight bounce off the glossy scales. "Changed…it has… Perhaps… _Arhsvu…yur arhsvu ug trqyoard, ug aoxstfd, dmelrd emf frehpmd saolr_," he finished to himself, his voice barely audible, let alone intelligible. Van looked at the Nya'torians expectantly, but no one offered any translation.

"That's rude," Merle muttered, bristled. "At least they should translate for us, right, Van-sama?"

Van shook his head. "Do not worry about it," he said, his voice more firm that he had intended.

Kirra rose to her feet awkwardly, and Van noticed she was limping. But she did not show any signs of her suffering in her face; rather, her expression was that of impatience and annoyance. "Are there many dragons in this forest, Your Majesty?" She turned to Van. Although her words were out of respect, her tone was harsh and rude.

Van resisted the childish temptation to fire back an insult at her. Instead, he gazed thoughtfully at the clear, cloudless dome overhead. "If you know what to look for," he said quietly, his eyes closed, "you stand a small chance of surviving. What you saw back there—" he jerked his chin back at the spot where the dragon's corpse had lain "—was a tiny sample of the masters of this forest."

Kirra snorted in annoyance. Hitomi clenched and unclenched her fists. She had finally lost it. This feline's attitude had to go. Pulling out of Van's warm embrace, she marched up to the cat-girl and smacked her on the ear, earning a loud yowl of protest and a low, threatening hiss.

"What in the name of your god do you think you're—"

"I'm doing what I would do to anyone else who dared to treat their host with such disrespect," Hitomi interrupted, her eyes flashing angrily. "For a member of a royal court, you sure as hell don't know any manners." She narrowed her eyes. "Or are your parents too busy to take the time to teach you any?" she added slyly.

From the look of shock in Kirra's eyes, she had hit the jackpot. The cat-girl did not respect, but averted her gaze, her arms folded defiantly across her chest. She glanced sideways at Hitomi briefly.

"Do not speak as if you know," she snapped.

Hitomi allowed a tiny, annoying smile to spread on her face; this girl deserved to be agitated. "Oh, but perhaps I do," she said mysteriously, before pivoting on her heels and turning away. She did not look back at Kirra, but if she had, she would have noticed an unrecognizable glaze pass over those elegant emerald marbles.

~*~

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. After Hitomi's outburst, Kirra had remained silent except to ask Van where he thought it would be safe to spend the night. Her tone was so polite and sincere that Van hesitated had hesitated in answering and stared at her, unable to believe that she could be so earnest.

Their campsite was a small hill high up on the mountain, in a field surrounded by trees and boulders. The troupé had decided it would be safest to sleep against the boulders, in case they should be attacked in the middle of the night. After an argument, it had been decided that it would be safe to light a tiny fire at sunset, as long as it was out by the time the sun went down; the last thing they wanted was to attract any nighttime visitors that would otherwise leave them in peace.

_Everything is so complicated; life itself has suddenly become a giant puzzle, Van thought, as he gazed upward at the sky. He lay sprawled out on the grass a few yards from the campsite, his eyes on the Mystic Moon. Its brilliant light bounced off the leaves, giving them a glossy shimmer. A gentle breeze whizzed by, ruffling the feathers of his outstretched wings. Van sighed, relaxed, and let his eyes drift shut. The wind seeping through the depths of his messy hair and brushing over his scalp was a soothing feeling, and one he enjoyed very much._

"Van?" Hitomi's gentle voice only added to the sudden pleasure of the evening, and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself gazing into beautiful seas of murky green-gray. She was kneeling over him, her the outline of the Mystic Moon behind her, giving her face a mysteriously beautiful shadow.

"Hmm?" Van murmured absently, as she sank to the grass beside him, her arms flopping at her sides like limp rags. The moonlight reflecting off her face, giving her skin an even glossier shine than that of the treetops; it was mesmerizing. Van swallowed hard. Seeing her beauty in all its splendor painfully reminded him of how easy it would be to lose her…

"Van?" Hitomi's voice and gaze were that of concern. "Van, are you all right?" She hefted her weight onto one elbow and gazed worriedly at him, her brows knitted together.

The tips of his wing tickled her cheek as he leaned toward her, unable to control himself. She remained perfectly still as his lips softly brushed hers. He deepened the kiss, and she leaned into it, wrapping one arm around his neck. In turn, his own arm snaked around her waist. He released her only when the need for air began to make itself known.

"Van…?" Hitomi stared at him, her eyes wide. Van's face turned crimson when his mind finally awakened and regained control of his body, and he turned away quickly, unable to look into her eyes any longer.

"You're very beautiful," he whispered, tracing patters in the grass with his finger. "Very, very beautiful. Too beautiful…to lose…" He trailed off as tears pricked at his eyes, and cursed mentally. "Hitomi…" His voice cracked, much to his horror. "Hitomi…I don't think I can bare to lose you…lose another person…I love. I don't think I can lose anyone…anymore."

He heard the soft rustling of blades of grass, and felt her arms circle around his torso, dodging between his wings. One warm finger gently stroked the fluffy base of his wings, and he shivered as a sharp chill of pleasure shot up his back. Her breath tickled his backside as she spoke.

"Faith, Van… Hold onto your faith…"

_Faith…_

~*~

**To Be Continued…**

~*~

It seems my cursed writer's block is finally, if slowly, lifting its weight off my shoulders. This chapter came out in less than a month! (And it's longer than the others, I think.) In any case, I thank everyone for their patience. It was worth it, was it not? ^_~

**Wink57CS: (Very interesting penname, by the way.) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed that kiss. And thank you for the many, many compliments…my head is still spinning from so much praise in one review. As for Nyoka and his speech…perhaps his resemblance to Yoda was intentional…? ^_~**

**fallen-dark-angel: Ah, your many hours of crossing your fingers (and maybe even your toes) have finally paid off, have they not? Is this what you have been looking forward to? ^_^ And of course I forgive you for not reviewing. You were patient with me when I took a month to update… I am in no position to complain. (lol)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except Ayseth, the Nya'torians and my imagination.**

**~~*****~~**

**Chapter 8: Intervention**

The young girl leaned casually against the railing, her chin propped up in her hands. She tilted her head slightly to one side, smiling softly as a gentle breeze pushed short blond curls into her face. Pale eyelids slowly closed over sparkling blue orbs, and she tilted her head toward the gentle sunlight, relishing in the feel of the warmth on her skin.

The clicking of boots on the stone tiles interrupted her reverie, and she glanced over her shoulder. Standing in the doorway to the balcony was a tall young man with long blond hair, and eyes that matched her own. A soft, gentle smile floated over the man's features as he approached his younger sister, his sword clinking at his side.

"Celena," Allen Schezar's voice rumbled softly in his chest as he spoke. "We're taking a trip on the _Crusade to Fanelia, to visit King Van. Do you wish to come along?"_

The smile that lit up Celena Schezar's face was even brighter than the noon sun. "Do you think Lady Hitomi would be there?" she asked brightly. "You said you saw the blue pillar of light a few days ago, and it has not appeared again. That means she's still on Gaia, does it not?"

Allen smiled. "Of course." _And if there's one place Hitomi would be right now, it's Fanelia_, he added to himself. "You would really like to see her, wouldn't you?"

Celena nodded enthusiastically and hurried past her brother through the door. A grin lit up Allen's face as he gazed after her; she was the same now as she had been ten years ago, even though she had been through such a drastic change. But it was as though nothing had happened to her in ten years; it was as though Dilandau Albatou had never existed in the first place.

Dilandau… Allen frowned to think of the name. The albino, along with the entire empire of Zaibach, had caused all of Gaea to weep. He shook his head and put memories of the Destiny War into the back of his mind. This was not the time to think about such things.

~*~

Zychlesk made his way through the crowd of black-clad figures wandering the corridors of the giant airship. Only a few bothered to move out of his way as he passed by; the rest he was forced to shove aside ruthlessly, growling menacingly when they glared at him. He halted when he reached a large brass door, with intricate patterns carved into it and inlaid with precious gemstones.

He inhaled deeply and slowly pushed up one heavy sleeve of his black robe, revealing a knobby hand covered in thick orange fur. The tip of each finger was stained the color of dry blood, and his claws were hideously long and painted gold. Grasping the heavy brass door knocker in his white palms, he let it fall three times on the thin brass plate beneath it; the sound echoed throughout the long corridor, and a few workers paused in their noisy work to stare at him.

The door creaked open slowly, with a loud screech that shot through him like a bolt of lightning. Zychlesk peered past the brightly polished brass and saw only darkness. A low rumbled emitted from within: "Come in." With a bow, Zychlesk obliged; the door slammed shut behind him, sending forth a rush of wind that lifted the hem of his heavy robe.

Bright red lights flicked on, momentarily blinding the young general. Swallowing hard around a sudden lump of nervousness in his throat, Zychlesk sank to his knees, his furry, knobby hands in front of him. He heard footsteps approach him, but dared not look up. Only when he felt claws scrape his backside, digging through the fabric of his robe and into his skin like knives, did he look up. Hovering above him was the familiar violet-clad figure of the Kalryn's Devil, the silver and blood-colored staff clutched tightly in hands hidden in his robes.

"You may remove your hood, Zychlesk," the Kalryn's Devil addressed him, tapping his hidden forehead with the sharp tip of the staff. Zychlesk obeyed, and peeled away the sweat-soaked hood, his claws ripping through the fabric. Large pointed ears, with short black tufts dotted with sparkling gold paint, sprang forward, free of the heavy hood that had kept them pinned to his head. Black-spotted golden-brown fur, streaked with blue and purple stripes and intricate designs painted in gold, stuck out at odd angles; and he ran his hand over his face to smooth the thick, wrinkled whiskers and face fur. Sharp, piercing purple eyes stared at the feet hidden by violet robes.

"Give your report, and then I have something to show you," the deep voice rumbled from within the folds of amethyst.

"My lord, we are approaching the borders of a country known as Asturia, homeland of many of the figures who aided our _oewt id kicr," he announced, then waited for a signal to continue._

"And who are these figures?" the Devil prodded him, his voice firm.

"Princess Millerna Sara Aston, heir to the throne of Asturia; her sister, Princess Aria Eries; Knight Caeli Allen Crusade Schezar, and his sister, Celena, who was the victim of the work of the sorcerers of Zaibach; Lord Dryden Fassa, former husband to Princess Millerna; and the members of the ship known as the _Crusade_, which is the ship of the knight," Zychlesk recited.

The Devil stared down at him, and although Zychlesk could not see his face, he had the feeling the the Devil was grinning broadly. "So we have come to so many allies of our _aewt id kicr," he murmured, more to himself than to his lackey. "That is good. You have pleased me with this news, Zychlesk; that is good for you. Now come, my son. There is something I have meant to show you for quite some time now, but have delayed it for reasons of my own." He tapped Zychlesk's backside again, and the younger figure rose obediently. Although he was surprised as being addressed as his master's son, he did not show his shock; it would not have been acceptable._

The Devil padded softly across the marble floor, looking as though he were floating across the floor rather than walking. Zychlesk followed him loyally, his head bent in respect, his eyes pasted to the black swirling patterns on the marble. He paused only when he felt the Devil's footsteps cease, and looked up just enough to see the hem of the Devil's robes.

"You may raise your eyes, my son," the Devil stated, his voice clear. "Otherwise you will not see what I mean to show you." The younger figure obliged.

Slowly, the Devil turned around and lifted the sleeves of his violet robes. Underneath were thick, muscled arms covered in thick, wiry sandy fur. The underside of his paws were white streaked with blood-red designs, and his claws were so long that they curled under; they shimmered with gold and silver paint. The strong arms lifted, and with his hands he pushed back his hood. His enormous ears, topped with thick, wiry black tufts that were streaked with silver and gold paint, slowly rotated in their sockets, before perking forward. His face was sand-colored, with silver and gold markings painted around his eyes. His whiskers, painted gold, were not tangled but stuck straight out on either side of his face like thin arrows. He eyed his inferior with enormous amber orbs that glistened silver; the blood-red light cast a red glow over his orbs.

Zychlesk beheld him with wonder and a soaring feeling of superiority. Then suddenly he was overcome with dread. No one who gazed upon the Kalryn's Devil's face ever lived to tell of it. But Zychlesk refused to show his fear, lest it quicken his death.

His eyes never leaving his inferior's face, the Devil slowly pulled away the folds of his robes, his claws shredding the delicate fabric. Zychlesk watched as his master slowly divested himself of his robes, until he standing in the red-lit corridor clad in only a thin, knee-length silver skirt. His firm, muscled chest and enormous arms were decorated with dozens of hideous gashes and colorful bruises that matted and stained his sandy fur. His legs were covered in thin metal plates carved with intricate swirls and patterns and dotted with diamonds that captured an eerily bloody sparkle in the light. Zychlesk could not help but wonder how the Devil kept this metal plates from making even the tiniest of noises when he moved, until he realized that the plates were molted to his master's legs; if anything, these _were_ his legs. His feet were also covered in metal plates, and the metal claws that poked out of the end of his toes were painted black.

Zychlesk immediately felt as though his life were being ripped into shreds right before his eyes. No matter that no one who had set eyes on the face of the Devil lived to tell of it; he doubted that anyone had ever seen what was hidden beneath those folds of violet, dead or alive. He swallowed around the lump of fear in his throat and tried to suppress his shivering; thus the only sign of his fear was the beads of sweat that soaked his fur.

The Kalryn's Devil grinned, baring sharp white teeth framed by gold-plated canines. The grin faded as soon as it had appeared, leaving Zychlesk to wonder if his master had ever grinned at all.

"I have lived decades with this body." The Devil's voice sounded deeper when one was not hearing it resonating from within the folds of his hood. "Since the time of King Ruakan, I have lived with this mutilated body. But I have not been defeated…no one thus far has been capable of defeating me. They have damaged my body beyond repair, but do you see me limp? Do you see me waver? Do you see me fail?" The Devil's voice darkened.

"There was a time when I was handsome, even without the designs of our warriors. There was a time when my body was unblemished, when females swooned before me. But that time of happiness vanished decades ago…too long ago for you to imagine." He looked away briefly, before his gaze snapped back to Zychlesk. "This is what I wanted to show you. You may not understand it now, but you will in due time. You are dismissed." With that, he picked up his staff in one hand, gathered the shredded remains of his robe in the other, and walked away. There was a tiny click, and the lights flickered off, leaving Zychlesk in total darkness.

~*~

Adibah stared at her crystal ball intently, her wrinkled eyes narrowed. Within the cloudy depths of the shimmering sphere, she could see the giant bluish-white sphere that was Earth, surrounded by billions of twinkling stars in a sea of midnight blue. The image in the ball suddenly swerved downward, like a surveillance camera following a group of trespassers, to the mountainside below. The moonbeams bounced off the treetops like shards of glass.

The image continued passing over the mountainside until it came to a small clearing, surrounded by the tall black shadows of trees and the bulky gray shadows of rocks. Adibah leaned forward, and the "camera" dived downward, coming to an adrupt halt a few yards from the ground. Adibah twitched her fingers, and the image in the ball moved toward the top of the hill, where two figures lay side-by-side. One sported a pair of brilliant wings; the moonlight bounced off the crystal-white surface of the feathers. A tiny smile played on the old cat-woman's lips.

The image moved away from the sleeping couple toward one of the larger boulders near the bottom of the hill. Two figures were propped up against the rough, bumpy surface of the stone, their heads bent forward in sleep. Both had weapons placed conveniently in their laps, and one rested with a sword propped up against a shoulder.

Adibah frowned slightly as she came upon a fifth, unrecognizable figure. It was stretched out on the grass; the white light of the moon bounced off bouncy curls and striped fur. Adibah blinked before recognition dawned, and she moved on. A black shadow in the grass, in the crevice between two boulders, caught her attention, and the "camera" swerved toward it. Moving closer, Adibah caught sight of dull glistens from knife blades, and nodded her approval.

The seventh figure was sprawled over the round surface of a rock, every part of its body as limp as a rag. Its stomach was presented to the sky, and cords dangled limply from its hands. Adibah nodded again and continued her search for the final figure. She found it halfway up the hill, curled underneath the shadow of another giant stone. Its wings were folded around it, hiding it from view.

Adibah leaned back, and the "camera" shot upward toward the sky, focusing once again on the Earth. Adibah looked up at the dark ceiling and closed her eyes. _So they are safe, and, even better, have already come to terms with the Royal Dragon and the Mystic Daughter. That is good…very good._

Soft footsteps interrupted her thoughts, and she looked toward the door. A few seconds later, it opened slightly and Queen Alakana poked her head into the room. Adibah smiled and nodded, and the queen stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind her. The white light of the crystal ball, the only source of light in the room, reflected off the hundreds of tiny beads sewn into the queen's gown, giving her a majestic, mystical appearance.

"How is it coming?" Alakana asked, her eyes clouded with worry.

"Do you wish to see, Your Majesety?" Adibah replied, her hands folded behind her back. The queen approached the crystal ball and peered into its cloudy depths with narrow amber eyes. After a few moments, she looked up at the soothsayer and frowned.

"You said there were only seven, but I count eight," she said accusingly. "Who is the remaining one?"

Adibah gazed at the ball, a wavering smile on her face. "Apparently a childhood friend of the Royal Dragon's," was her soft reply. "She is a cat-girl, from Gaea—Earth does not have 'beast-people,' as Gaeans call them. Do not worry; she will not bring any harm to the quest. If anything, she will help."

"But she is not one of the Seven," the queen persisted stubbornly. "How does that do any good?"

"I informed Your Majesty that the Seven would be the ones to bring upon the downfall of the Devil and send him to hell; I did not say they would do it alone."

~*~

Allen's gloved hand slammed down on the map of Gaea lying on his desk, and he shot out of his chair instantly, his blue eyes flashing, his brows knitted together firmly. His sharp gaze was on Gaddes, who was standing in the doorway, his bushy eyebrows pulled together, a deep frown on his face. He leaned casually against the doorframe, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his dust-covered pants.

"I had the same reaction, sir," Gaddes said, his deep voice traced with annoyance. "But it ain't no joke: His Majesty, Lady Hitomi, and even that cat-girl, all left Fanelia yesterday afternoon. And they weren't alone: five mysterious folk accompanied 'em. They headed in the direction of the mountaintops." He pointed out the window toward the jagged peaks that stretched for miles before them. "The only thing the king told Ayseth was that planets were in danger and he was following his destiny." Gaddes frowned. "Ain't like the king to use that kind of speech, eh, sir? Ayseth said he didn't look himself either; he looked possessed."

Allen's pale brows pulled together until they looked as though they had been sewn together with invisible thread. He tapped his chin with one long, slender finger, lost in thought. "And what of these strangers?" he said finally, his eyes unfocused. "When did they appear, and where are they from?"

Gaddes shook his head. "They were found roaming the outskirts of the kingdom a few days ago, and they were captured—without a fight, surprisingly—and brought before the king when they refused to speak to anyone but His Majesty and Lady Hitomi. As to their origin…" He frowned. "Not one member of the palace household could place their accent—clearly they are not from Gaea, and nor are they from the Mystic Moon—they have no beast-folk there, says the lady."

"Are you sure they are not from a remote, tiny country?" Allen pressed. How could they not be from Gaea?

Gaddes cocked an eyebrow. "Tell me, sir, when's the last time you've seen a beast-folk that looks like a cross between a giant lizard and a furless cat? Or when's the last time you've seen a beast-folk that looks like a cross between a ghost and three different species of bird?" Allen's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and the brown-haired man pursed his lips. "Two members of the party of strangers looked like that, according to Ayseth, and unless there's been a development of new beast-folk in some remote, middle-of-nowhere part of the world, these folk ain't from Gaea."

Allen pulled out a chair and sat down, his eyes still unfocused. "So they are not from Gaea, and they are not from the Mystic Moon. Then where are they from?" he wondered, more to himself than to anyone else.

"I don't like the sound of this, sir," Gaddes said, folding his arms across his chest. "Five strangers turn up out of nowhere, and the king starts speaking as if he's possessed? Something is amiss…could be another war…"

Allen rose to his feet suddenly. "I would like to speak to Ayseth myself. Tell the others that we may not be staying here long. I'm not apt to linger here if there's danger amiss. I'll need to report it back home immediately."

Gaddes moved out of the way to allow the knight passage. Allen strode down the corridor, nodding his head absently to passing crewmembers. He noticed one of the doors in one of the halls was open slightly: Celena's door. He stood by it for a few moments before pushing it open. His sister stood at the window, her eyes on the blue-roofed royal palace of Fanelia. She looked over her shoulder and smiled brightly at her brother as he entered. Half of Allen's somber mood vanished at the sight of Celena's bright face, and he smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry, but we may not be staying here very long," he said apologetically, moving to stand beside her. "It seems Van and Hitomi, and even Merle, left Fanelia yesterday, with some strangers whose homeland remains a mystery."

For a brief moment, Celena's eyes were the color of blood. A chill shot up Allen's spine. That shade of blood-red was the color of Dilandau Albatou's eyes. _She can't be turning back into _him_, can she?_ he wondered, clenching his fists. But seconds later her eyes were their normal clear, sparkling blue, and Allen wondered if he had dreamt it all.

"Could there be a war, brother?" Celena said, her tone shockingly impassive. Allen felt a surge of fear through his veins, but tried his best not to show it.

"That's what I'm going to find out," Allen said. "But don't be disappointed if you don't get the chance to see the inside of the palace now," he added. He ruffled her hair and then left the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was out of earshot, he broke into a run, his thoughts jumbled like the missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Half an hour later found Allen sitting in a windowless conference room in the back of the palace, with Ayseth sitting right in front of him. The captain of the royal guard had shed his armor and was now wearing a simple shirt and pants. Add to that his round, boyish features, and he hardly looked a captain of anything, let alone the most important division of the king's army.

Allen leaned back in his seat, one leg crossed over the other, his arms folded across his chest. "So you know nothing of the origins of these strangers," he said, his voice hinting no emotion. "You know only that their accent is unrecognizable, and that two of them did not resemble anything you have ever seen or heard of in your life."

Ayseth leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. Storm-gray eyes locked with sapphire. "In truth, the only one that spoke was the black cat-girl, Kirra, whom I assumed was their leader. But I assumed they were from the same country, for they all wore similar dress. We did not learn any of the others' names; none of them would speak, even when we demanded they do so."

"Do you think it is perhaps safe to follow them?" Allen asked curiously.

Ayseth's face clouded over. "Sir, if it were not for the fact that I have strict orders to remain here at the palace in the absence of the king, I would be following him myself," was the determined reply.

"Good," Allen said, "because I intend to follow him, whether he likes it or not."

~~****~~

**To Be Continued…**

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Geez, I had no idea that all the bits with Van and Hitomi would be so popular. Almost everyone has mentioned them in their reviews! And thank you to everyone who was concerned about my writer's block. Yes, it is lifting, although sometimes it returns for a period of time. (But when it is not present, I write quite a bit!)

I have decided that, to avoid clogging up space in each chapter, I will not reply to every single review unless there is something in your review that has triggered a reply (such as, an error of mine that you point out, a question you have for me, etc.). I have seen what happens when authors reply to all of their reviews—it is a mess and sometimes takes up half the chapter, and I do not want that to happen here. So do not take offense if I do not reply to your review. It does not mean that I do not appreciate your time and effort. Of course I do! I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and review my story; and if you read but do not review, I still appreciate it.

**Wink57CS**: Thank you very much for pointing out my repitition; I had not even noticed it before you mentioned it, and now I am being extremely cautious with my choice of words. Thank you so much! (Maybe I should crack open that old theasaurus of mine….)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: _The Vision of Escaflowne belongs to a lovely Japanese animation studio known as Studio _****Sunrise****. I, I am sorry to say, am not a part of that lovely group of animators, nor do I think I will ever be. Enough said.**

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**Chapter 9: Allies**

Muniya was the first of their party to awaken the next morning, at dawn. She unfurled her wings and stretched her limbs, yawning widely. She blinked into the pinkish glow of the morning and eyed the sky: the sun was an orange-red globe on the horizon, surrounded by dark clouds. _An impairment on our journey, the bird-girl noted silently, exhaling slowly and flexing her talons._

Without warning, she took to the sky, the wind rushing past her ears and seeping underneath her long hair to tickle her scalp. It was a refreshment she had been long deprived of. Hovering in midair, she took the time to gaze at the lovely sky without the blockade of dark trees. A tiny smile curled the corners of her mouth, and she did a few flips in midair to work out the kinks her shoulderblades.

Slight movement to her left diverted her attention, and she paused in her flips, vaguely aware that she hanging upside-down with her gown pulled toward the ground by gravity. But she paid it no heed; she wore pants for a reason. Pushing her gown aside with one hand, she noticed a pair of brown leather boots and khaki pants. She uprighted herself and folded her legs pretzel-style.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Her voice, as always, was barely audible. Van did not reply, but simply stared at her as if she were crazy. Small, fluffy white feathers floated around him like a slow-moving cyclone, but he paid them no notice. He hovered in midair with his knees slightly bent, his wings stretched to their widest. Amber met garnet as they stared at each other.

"You do not seem the type to do backflips in midair at the crack of dawn," Van's slow voice broke the silence.

Muniya unfolded her legs and bent her knees slightly, imitating his posture. "There are many things I am that I ought not to be," was the mysterious reply. Before Van had a chance to decipher the meaning of her words, she added, "It feels nice to stretch one's wings early in the morning, when the world is just waking and there is nought be peace and quiet… Does it not, Your Majesty?"

Van opened his mouth to reply when he noticed that Muniya was no longer looking at him but at the ground beneath him. Curious, he followed her gaze. Nyoka was standing below them, his pupils so dilated that his eyes were nothing but a large sea of glistening topaz. The wind gently pushed his thick air away from his face, making his cheek marks more prominent. His tail waved back and forth in an odd manner, and Van stared at him quizzically.

"He is beckoning to us," Muniya explained softly, her eyes carefully following the movements of the lizard's tail. "I believe he has an important message for us…" She looked at him expectantly, one hand aiming toward the ground. "After you, Your Majesty," she said politely, nodding her head in respect. Van nodded and, folding his wings against his side, dove down to the earth. He felt a rush of wind brush his shoulder and was shocked to see a gold and white blur shoot by him to land smoothly on the hillside. _Damn, how does she fly so fast? he thought, wide-eyed. _

An wry smile played with the corners of Nyoka's green-tinted lips as the young king landed. "Company we are about to have, I believe," he said slowly, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth and breaking his smooth speech into spits. "From here I cannot tell what it is, but approaching fast, it is, and from the direction of your city. Danger from it I do not sense, but cautious still we must be."

_For the love of God, can he, for once in his life, speak grammatically correct? Van thought, exasperated._

"You say there is something approaching us?" Van's attention was directed to the source of the voice. Hitomi stood a few feet away, her eyes glazed over with exhaustion. Her short hair was ruffled, and she was desperately trying to smooth it down with one hand, while muffling her yawn with the other. "But you do not sense danger. Could it just by a leviship passing over the country on its way to, oh, say, Asturia?" Her speech was slightly slurred, and Van had the distinct feeling that she had not have a very restful night. He frowned slightly but chose to remain silent on the matter; he would bring it up later.

"Not many leviships pass over the mountain," Van told her, almost immediately regretting it the instant the words left his mouth. Hitomi paused in rubbing her eyes to shoot him a deathly glare aided by the agitation and short temper that resulted from a lack of sleep.

"What does it matter?" Kirra's angry voice snapped. Stifling a groan, Van looked over his shoulder at the black cat, who was staring at his outstretched wings with an odd expression on her face. Sensing his gaze, she glared at him. "As long as they do not bother us," she continued, her hands on her hips, "why do we even bother to worry? Shall we proceed, Your Majesty?" Her tone was mocking, and Van bristled. "You are, after all, the only one who knows where we are going." She smirked, ignoring the warning glances she was receiving from her fellow Nya'torians.

Van opened his mouth to reply when a dark shadow passed over them. Shielding his eyes, he squinted upward at the form of a giant leviship. His mouth dropped when he recognized it.

"Van!" Hitomi cried excitedly. "It's the _Crusade_!" Van could only nod as her comment was nearly drowned out by the roar of propellers.

The ensemble watched as the leviship slowly descended to the ground before them, attacking them with a giant gust of wind that nearly blew them off their feet. Kirra let out curses in her own native language as she was flung backward. There were two yelps as Aurelia and Urufu, who were still shaking off sleep, were thrown against the boulder they had been resting against. Merle awoke with a loud, feline screech and dug her claws into the hard surface of a boulder, her tail erect. Hitomi shielded her eyes and spread her legs in an effort to keep from being blown away.

"A most interesting contraption—not that different from Earthen airplanes, hmm?" Urufu's deep voice said calculatingly. "Except without engines…" His nose twitched, and he sniffed air curiously.

A ramp was lowered, and a familiar head of rough brown hair peered around the doorway. Gaddes' face broke into his familiar ruffian grin as he loped down the ramp, wearing his usual warrior's armor. "Long time no see, Your Majesty, Lady Hitomi," he said. He looked around at the others, and blinked. "So these are the strange folk who dragged you all off on some strange adventure," he said slowly. His eyes passed carelessly over Kirra, Aurelia and Urufu, though he stumbled over the shockingly more animalistic features of those three. But when he looked at Muniya and Nyoka, he did a double-take. "What in the name of the…"

Kirra's ears flattened back on her head, and she let out a low, threatening growl that was unlike any growl any cat-folk of Gaea was capable of. "Who the hell do you think you are, and what the hell are you doing here?" she hissed. Gaddes stared at her. Ayseth had not mentioned just _how strange their accent was._

"So you are not from any part of Gaea," a familiar voice said. Allen Schezar stood on the halfway point of the ramp, his white-gloved hands on his hips. He wore his usual knight's attire, including the sword that swung from his hip. His blue eyes softened at the sight of Hitomi, and he smiled warmly as he walked toward them. "It is nice to see you again, Hitomi, Van." He nodded to the young king, who nodded sharply in return. He was remembering, with distaste, the competition he and the blonde knight had waged over Hitomi's affections.

"How did you find us?" Hitomi asked, saving Van the task of asking that same question—and Van knew his voice would not as sweet and kind as Hitomi's. Although he and Allen were friends, and Allen had assured him that he had given up his pursuit for Hitomi's love, there was still a thin layer of competition that lay beneath the thick surface of their alliance. And Van was not about to forget that layer.

Allen spared a quick glance in Van's direction. "Ayseth said you had rushed off suddenly a few mornings ago, with five strange beast-creatures that were like none here on Gaea." His gaze quickly shifted to the Nya'torians, and he, like Gaddes, did a double-take at the sight of Muniya and Nyoka. But unlike Gaddes, he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Oh, so now we have become the objects of queer faces and rude remarks?" Kirra snapped, her patience visibly wearing thin. "Your Majesty, I thought you had told that guard not to mention _anything to __anyone. Do all your subjects scoot around your royal orders?"_

Van was livid with anger, his face red with fury. "Allen Schezar is a comrade of mine," he said, his voice strained. "Yes, I told Ayseth not to mention to anyone that their king was not present, there are exceptions to such a demand—exceptions that I need not to tell Ayseth, for he already knows. Old friends who inquire after me are part of that exception." His eyes flashed, a frightening blood-red glint. "I told Ayseth nothing except that we were leaving. He told Allen what only he himself knew."

Kirra's ears twitched. "You put that much trust in your guard? You are quite an unusual ruler, Your Majesty. Perhaps this results from your youth? From your lack of a parental figure in your childhood? Or is this entire world backward?"

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT VAN-SAMA!" Merle shrieked, her fur bristling with anger. She hissed and spat, her eyes blazing with the scalding blue fires of hell. Only Hitomi's gentle hand pressed to her backside prevented her flinging herself at Kirra with her claws unsheathed.

"Sir, this is a bit much," Gaddes said quietly to Allen, but his words did not escape the keen hearing of Urufu, who happened to be standing near. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest, his sharp amber eyes fixed on Kirra. Now he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the two Asturians, and let the corner of his mouth curl into a snarl.

Allen stepped forward, touching the hilt of his sword. "Who are you, to insult not only a king and his country, but the entire planet as well?" he demanded, his voice as sharp and cold as ice.

One black ear flicked in his direction, and Kirra stared at him out of the corner of her eye. "Cut the shit, womanizer."

There was a sharp intake of breath as the black cat's insult cut to the core. All pairs of eyes were suddenly glued to Allen, who was staring at the offender with a mixture of embarrassment, shame and anger reddening his face. His normally gentle eyes were suddenly piercing. Allen did not like to be reminded of the very un-chivalric deeds he had done in the past. Just thinking about those deeds filled his heart and mind with shame and embarrassment. But for this mere cat-child to turn his past into something even more hideous than it already was… How did she know, anyway? No one would call him a "womanizer" just for the sake of insulting him.

There was a blinding flash of light, and suddenly Kirra was thrown into the air, spun around, and then sent diving headlong into the earth. She lifted her face, coughing up a mouthful of dirt and grass, and wiped her mouth. Her face was contorted into a grimace of pain, and after she had sat up straight, the reason could be seen: the fur on her bare abdomen was streaked with blood. She folded in on herself, clutching her stomach with one furry hand.

"Oh my God…" Hitomi breathed, clapping one hand to her mouth.

Kirra's face twisted into a snarl. _"Upi fezm nsdyetf," she growled, baring her fangs. She let out the loud roar of a wildcat, her eyes gleaming with gold streaks, like lightning. _"Zsu yur frboa diil upit nappf!_ " She rose to her feet, her dangerous glare directed in Van's direction. The young king stepped back, his eyes wide. What had he done?_

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, and Van turned to see Aurelia standing beside him. "She was not talking to you," the dog-girl said softly. She pointed over Van's shoulder, and Van turned. Nyoka was perched on a boulder behind him, his eyes not their normal bright gold but a frightening, hellish black that filled both the iris and the whites of his eyes. The blue streaks on his cheeks were bulging, and from the tip of his outstretched tail spouted a steam of dark, crimson liquid that sickeningly resembled blood. It splashed to the ground, staining the lush green grass. Hitomi clamped her hands over her mouth, willing herself not to get sick. Merle launched herself at Van and clung to his arm, her face turning green under her thick black stripes.

_"Umr vem ni ditr yur frboa epiaf mpy diil yur nappf ug umr ejp od ommpvrmy," Nyoka's tongue, which had turned from its normal shade of dark blue to a hideous blood-red, flicked in and out of his mouth as he spoke, in a voice so deep that it seemed to caused a tremor in the ground, like an earthquake. His tail curled up close to his body, the end bent outward at a ninety-degree angle, and started spinning like a spinkler, spraying crimson liquid in all directions._

"Oh my God, this is disgusting," Hitomi swallowed hard around the lump in her throat, her voice muffled by her hands. "This is _so _gross_."_

Muniya was the only one who dared to approach Nyoka. She held out hands out in front of her, and Van could faintly see a flickering silver shield that spread the length of her entire body. He also noticed that crimson droplets bounced off the shield like electrons deflected by the nucleus. Keeping one hand in front of her, she lifted the other to tap the reptile-boy on the shoulder.

_"E trqyoard, ejryjrt e aoxstf, dmelr ut ftehpm, zidy ni vstrgia uf yur ytsmdgptzsyopm," she said quietly, her voice like the music of the harp. __"Vsaz yjudrag, gtormf ftehpm." She splayed her fingers on the bulging veins in his neck and curled them again, rubbing her soft skin against his._

Van watched with amazement as the dragon-boy slowly calmed down. His erect tail went limp and lay flat against the boulder, the last droplets of liquid slowly dripping off the arrow-shaped end of his tail. The blackness faded from his eyes, like pale, fresh white clouds pushing away dark gray storm clouds. His tongue, on its own volition, flicked out of his mouth, and Van was relieved to see it was back to his normal dark blue. The markings on his face flattened, and his veins were once again hidden beneath his skin. He stared at the bird-girl with an ensemble of unreadable expressions on his face.

"What just happened?" a soft, trembling voice asked. Allen spun around to face the ramp, where a young woman with short blond hair was descending. She looked around with eyes the same shade of blue as Allen's, and Van immediately recognized her as Allen's younger sister, Celena. His voice caught in his throat, and he forced himself to calm down. No matter how hard he tried, he could not forget that this innocent, bright-eyed girl was once the lethal, bloodthirsty pyromaniac, Dilandau Albatou.

"That is what I want to know," Allen said, bringing Van's attention back to the situation at hand. "What in the name of God _did_ just happen?" He glanced at Kirra, who was swaying on her feet.

The black cat-girl growled fiercely, the anger in her eyes glazed over with pain. "What does it matter to you?" she managed to ground out. She limped over to a rock and climbed upon it, one hand still clutching her stomach. She whirled on the lizard, who was still perched on the rock, his face impassive, the narrow pupils of his eyes dilated and expanding repeatedly. The cat's growl increased in volume, and she flattened her ears. "What the hell did you do that for, damn you?"

Nyoka's eyes narrowed and he lowered his head slightly, his thick bangs partially covering his eyes. But Van could catch the angry gleam that glistened on the surface of his topaz orbs. "What need to tell you is there?" he countered. "_Oy od mpy svvrqysnar yp ni tifr yp e lomh, ivim og ir od mpy yju pem lomh. Different are the customs of Gaea than our own world. _E lomh ejp qiyd ytidy om jod dinkrvyd od dpzryozrd yur nrdy ug lomhs._"_

_"Om yur goy ug smhry, umr zidy ir vstrigia ug yur bovyoz ug yju yizqit," Urufu rumbled._

"Something you are probably told multiple times in the day," Kirra snapped, but her growls had diminished and she was no longer glaring hatefully at Nyoka. She looked over at the Gaeans, and Hitomi, who were staring at her, and glowered. "And how may I help you this time?"

"Perhaps an explanation as to what just happened would be sufficient," Van said coldly.

His request was met with silence. Finally, Aurelia spoke in a soft voice: "That is something very difficult to explain, and now would not be the appropriate time. If you would pardon us, Your Majesty."

Kirra was eyeing the two blondes warily. "Are there going to be additions to our party, Your Majesty?" she inquired. "Are we now required to once again explain who we are and why we are here?"

"That would be nice," Van said, his voice unchanged.

~~****~~

**To Be Continued…**

~~****~~

I have two things to say:

1. I had no idea all my Van/Hitomi scenes would be so popular, and that people would miss them in a chapter in which they were not included; and

2. Thank you everyone for complimenting my character description.

Otherwise, I am sorry to say, there were no questions for me to answer, and no errors that were pointed out. So there are no review replies in this chapter—sorry. But I would like to give special thanks to everyone who reviewed: **aradow**, **dreamingofflyingaway**, and_ **Wink57CS**. _Arigatou!__


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_. Don't you dare sue me.**

**~***~**

**Chapter 10: Requests**

Queen Alakana stared wearily at the old, withering white cat before her. "How many more obstacles must our young ones face?" she asked, in a worn, wobbling voice. Her amber eyes glowed dully in the dim, orange glow of candlelight. The soothsayer's crystal ball, resting on the table, glowed a bright silver, its light bouncing off Adibah's thick white face fur and dotting her whiskers.

The soothsayer looked up from her crystal ball, her sharp blue eyes now glowing dimly gray. "Undeterminable, Your Majesty," she replied tiredly. "I wish I could say—it would take away some of the stress—but no one can. It's up to the children."

Alakana sighed. "Their families have requested your audience, Adibah. They're gravely worried, having not heard a thing about what's happening to their children. This is a cruel thing to do to parents and siblings, you realize." Her tired gaze turned cold, her eyes flashing brightly even in the room's meager light.

Adibah ground her jaw. "There's nothing I can do, but I shall see them, if that's what they wish, and if that's what Your Majesty wishes," she said, taking the role of an obedient subject; but her tone portrayed frustration and displeasure, and even rebellion.

"Yes, it is what I wish," the queen said, wearily but firmly. "Anything to take some of the stress off these poor folk is better than nothing."

Adibah's gaze was as cold as ice, and her tone was sharp. "Yes, Your Majesty."

~*~

Zychlesk stared in awe at the floor-to-ceiling mirror that was one of the treasures of his chamber. The glass was clear and gleamed brightly, his own reflection unblemished, unwrinkled. It was bordered in polished brass that shone brightly in the golden sunlight that sneaked into the room through the open windows. The brass was not decorated with any gemstones, as were the mirrors of the Kalryn's Devil, and the mirrors in the halls, but with intricately carved vines, outlined in brass rope.

Rarely were any of the Kalryn Devil's subjects permitted such luxuries as full-length mirrors in their personal chambers—nor were they often granted chambers as large as this one. But Zychlesk was the Devil's Private Messenger, and thus was allowed such finery. His was not permitted the four-poster bed of his superior, but his bedframe was brass roped in red silk, his headboard and footboard also made of brass. He was also permitted silk and satin bedsheets, and although it was not as warm as the coarse cotton and wool bedsheets given to the lesser subjects, complaints were not worth the risk of losing such an honor. His window curtains were a thin red silk overlayered by thick red satin, the latter of which was currently tied back with silver braided rope, to allow the sunlight to stream in through the silk in rays of dark fire. His floor was carpeted in crimson, allowing a soft padding beneath his bare feet, but a padding tough enough to withstand his long claws.

Zychlesk closed his purple eyes briefly, his mind's eye immediately flaring with the image of his master in all his glory, without the covering his thick violet robes. His heart thrashed wildly against his ribcage, despite the numerous times he had inhaled and exhaled deeply, in attempt to calm it down. He swallowed hard, a part of him determined that it was sinful to have seen such a thing and still be alive to remember it. Should he force himself to forget it? But another part of him refused to let go of so precious a memory. What was he supposed to do? What would his master say?

He turned to the mirror again, and absently lifted one hand to smooth his whiskers. After seeing his master without a hood, without his robes, Zychlesk did not see any reason to wear such a heavy hood in the privacy of his own chamber. He had never questioned the unspoken rule of never removing one's robes or hood, but only because the Devil had never been seen clad in anything besides folds of violet. But what of now? Why should one not remove one's own hood, as long as one is alone?

The dull _thud_ of the brass knockers on the brass plate on his wooden door interrupted his thoughts, and he jerked in surprise. His eyes clouded with annoyance, and he pulled his hood over his face, folding his ears against his head to keep from smushing the tips. He wanted to curl his lip into a snarl, to build up a fury to unleash on his sudden visitor, but he could not bring himself to do it. Once, he had been able to; but now, it seemed, he was changed. Luckily, no one would be able to see the softness that had glazed over his normally sharp purple eyes. No one would be able to see that his face was absent of the annoyed snarl he usually greeted afternoon visitors with. They would see only darkness.

"Come in," he said, forcing a growl into his voice. It was harder than usual, but he managed a convincing growl of anger. The door opened slowly, but he did not turn to greet his visitor. Rather, he kept his eyes solely on the mirror in front of him, and only when he heard the door close with a _click_ did he turn.

He was met with a figure clad in the scarlet robes of the priests, its face hidden by numerous folds. A thick, silver braided cord was draped around its waist, signifying high rank. Zychlesk felt a flare of hostility and fear. The priests were some of the Devil's closest advisors, and were to be rightly feared, as well as respected.

Zychlesk forced himself to remain impassive, lest the priest was capable of reading his emotions. Was this priest here to punish him for setting eyes upon the unrobed Kalryn's Devil? Had the master sent this priest to send him to the fiery gates of hell?

"How may I help you, Honored One?" the Private Messenger said, his voice strained with politeness and refinement. Although it threatened to break through and roar like a mighty lion, his fear remained just beneath the surface.

The priest slowly rolled up its scarlet sleeves, revealing slender arms covered in silky silver fur sprinkled with tiny black dots. The tip of each finger was white, and the long black claws were sharpened to dangerous points that were painted silver. The palms were also white. Zychlesk eyed those arms, those fingers, with wide eyes hidden by his hood. These were not the thick, muscular arms of a male. Were the priests all frail creatures whose only strenth lay in their powers, not their physical bodies?

Slowly, the hands lifted to the scarlet hood and gently pulled it away, surprisingly not shredding the fabric. Zychlesk was glad that his face was covered, for his jaw dropped in shock. The figure he was staring at was not male but _female_—not a priest but a _priestess_!

Her face was the same silky silver as her arms, mottled with black. She had no ear tufts, and the backs of her ears were not black but simply silver sprayed with black, and decorated with swirls in crimson paint. Her narrow, slanted eyes were the color of emeralds; her eyelids were streaked with crimson paint, and her eyes were outlined with beautiful, elegant crimson designs. Her thin lips, also, were painted crimson. The top of her head bore thin black lines of fur that thinned as they made their way toward the point just between her eyes, where they mottled with the swirls of crimson paint.

Zychlesk felt his heart thrash against his ribcage again, but this time not out of fear. He did not recognize the emotion that swept throughout his entire body and set the very blood in his veins on fire; but he could very well guess what it was. He took a deep breath and closed his gaping mouth.

"You may remove your hood, Messenger," the priestess said, using Zychlesk's respectful title. A thin smile wavered on her lips, adding to her brilliance. Zychlesk bowed his head and slowly peeled away the heavy black folds, careful not to shred the fabric with his claws. Although his facial designs were more intricate and colorful than the priestess', he felt plain and common next to her. He raised his eyes, and amethyst met emerald. He felt another rush of that unfamiliar fire, but could not tear his eyes away from hers—nor did he want to.

"Zychlesk, I have been sent to request your attendance at a private council meeting with the priests and the Lord," she said, the trace of a smile still lingering on her lips. Zychlesk tried not to show his shock at how informally she was addressing him, as if he were a friend, when they had never met before! "The meeting begins in half an hour's time. Your presence is not required until then."

Zychlesk bowed his head in respect. "I shall be there as my lord wishes," he said solemnly. He wanted to say something else, _anything else, but knew not what. He stood there dumbly, staring at this priestess who so intrigued him. Finally, not sure if he was doing the right thing, he ventured, "If Honored One does not object, may I request your name?"_

The priestess cocked one invisible eyebrow, wrinkling her fine crimson tattoos, but the smile on her face did not fade. "No, I do not object, Messenger Zychlesk." Her smile broadened slightly, and she tilted her head the tiniest bit, giving her a slightly girlish, flirtateous look. "My name is Jyaozabel."

"It is my honor, Honored Jyoazabel," Zychlesk said, not sure of what else to say.

"As it is mine, Messenger Zychlesk," Jyaozabel replied, raising her eyebrow again. Pulling her hood to cover her face once more, she turned and exited the room, without proper goodbyes—but it was not as though they were expected. Priests were not even expected to greet anyone. Zychlesk stared at the spot on the carpet where she had stood, as if his gaze would cause her to materialize out of nowhere to occupy that space again.

~***~

**To Be Continued…**

~***~

I apologize for taking so long to update. I had meant to update at Christmas or New Year as a present to everyone, but it turned out I was so busy that I could not make the time…and then I was plagued with writer's block (go figure). But hopefully I am getting back in gear. *knocks on wood* Do you have any idea how guilty I feel about making you wait over a month for the next chapter—and even guiltier that this is not a ten-page-long chapter or something to make up for it? I am working on more, and hopefully shall update again soon _within the month._

Also, due to FanFiction.net's new policy of "Do not use chapter space for author's notes," I can no longer post up _excuses_ *coughcough* whenever I am taking a particularily long time to update. So, from now on, all such notices shall be posted in my profile. No, this is not an advertisement for everyone to flock to my profile. I just hate leaving everyone in the dark; but I also prefer _not_ to break any rules. So, there. I update my profile quite frequently. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: _The Vision of Escaflowne_ belongs to Studio ****Sunrise****. I own only the Nya'torians, Ayseth of the Fanelian guard, and my own imagination.**

~***~

**Chapter 11: Emotions**

~*~

Adibah looked around the long table, her gaze passing over the adults and children seated and standing anxiously, their eyes glued to the soothsayer. Beside her, Queen Alakana stared intently at her, her amber eyes narrowed, her lips pursed. Adibah pretended not to notice the queen's cold stare, the harsh glares of the seated adults, and the mixed bags of emotions emitting from the faces of those standing. She leaned forward on the table, propping her chin up on folded hands. Her expression was impassive, the dim light in her eyes unreadable. Again she looked around the table, at the clouded faces.

"There is nothing more I can do," the soothsayer said, her voice as emotionless as her face, "except keep watch over them and pray. The rest is up to them. This is their destiny."

Her words were met with silence. Waiting for a response, the soothsayer took her time looking at each face in the room. She looked first to the family of felines nearest to her on the right, the Noir'chattes—Kirra's family. Seated closest to her was Kirra's father, Arjett Noir'chatte, captain of the third division of the royal guard, the knife-throwers. He was clad in the uniform of his division: a scarlet sleeveless tunic edged in thin gold braid, over a tan cotton long-sleeved shirt and matching hose; a thick black leather belt from which dangled numerous tiny knife scabbards; knee-high black leather boots; elbow-length black leather gloves. He had the same thick black fur and dark emerald eyes as his daughter. Seated beside him was his wife, Brunoa. She was a beautiful brown cat with white markings on her face and neck, and eyes the color of the sun. Her brown hair was pulled back in a braid.

Adibah then turned to the Oo'kamis, Urufu's mother and father. Faolan, Urufu's father, was the captain of the second division of the royal guard, also known as the knights. He, too, wore the uniform of his division: a deep blue long-sleeved tunic; tan pants; a thick cord of gold braid tied around his waist, from which hung the thick, curved scabbard of a sabre; knee-high black leather boots; and white gloves. His amber eyes contrasted brightly with his mottled dark gray fur. Next to him, her dark brown eyes clouded with fear and anxiety, was Urufu's mother, Nuala, a white wolf.

Aurelia's father, Mauli Chie'nyne, was the second-in-command of the second division of the royal guard, and wore the same uniform as his captain. But instead of a curved sabre's scabbard, he wore two long, straight scabbards, one on each hip. He was black and white, with reddish-tan markings above his eyes and on his throat, and he had the features and typical markings of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. His dark brown eyes were surprisingly calm, especially when compared to the panic-stricken, darting bright blue eyes of his wife, Sianna. She was red with white markings, with the features of a Siberian Husky.

Sitting in the shadows, at the end of the table, were the Syor'aves' and the Vaye'ocards. Adibah glanced first at Muniya's family, her eyes riveted to her father, Dyami, one of the palace's most powerful sorcerers. His thin black hair was pulled away from his face in a half-ponytail held only by a piece of gold thread; his narrow, slanted eyes were bright, sharp gold, standing out in his ghost-white face. From the folds of his silver and gold tunic emerged a pair of sleek wings the color of a starless night sky. His stark, sharp features were a strong contrast to the soft, smooth features of his wife, Chenoa. Her wings were a pale silvery-white, a few shades darker than her skin. Her hair was silver and fell over her shoulders and down her back like a silvery waterfall. Her eyes were the color of her husband's wings, as black as the midnight sky.

Opposite the table from the Syor'aves' were Nyoka's parents. His father, Ryu, was the captain of the fifth division of the royal guard, the yeomen. His skin was dark brown, with thick black stripes that streaked down his cheeks. His slanted eyes were the color of sunlit topaz, and his hair was as thick, black and messy as his son's. He wore the uniform of the fifth division: a long-sleeved tan tunic over brown leather pants and boots, a brown leather belt, and a leather baldric with which to carry his quiver of arrows. Seated beside him was his wife, Secoya. Her skin was much paler than her husband's, and tinted blue. The thick stripes on her cheeks were dark green, the same color as her eyes. Her hair fell around her face in soft, holly-red curls.

Adibah rubbed her aching temples tiredly and turned her attention away from the adults. Standing against the walls were the younger siblings of the Destined Ones: Kirra's brother, Donagh; Urufu's twin brothers, Cheveyo and Faris; Aurelia's sister, Tahmore; Muniya's two twin sisters, Luyu and Kalandra, and her brother, Tuari; and Nyoka's two sisters, Vaschel and Akamu. All wore similar looks of fear, panic and nervousness, and some were trembling in place. Adibah felt her heart wrench. The parents she could handle with ease; working with worried adults was something she had much experience in. But if there was one thing she could not bear, it was fright in a child's eyes. The fear and worry of these children sliced through her heart in a way the glares of the adults could not, and she realized just in how much danger the Destined Ones were.

Not sure what else to do, the soothsayer repeated wearily, "There is nothing more I can do except keep vigil over them and pray. I'm sorry." She shook her head, careful not to look at the children, lest her wavering barriers break. "This is destiny's will; I can only do its bidding."

At that, Arjett Noir'chatte rose to his feet, bringing his gloved fist down hard on the marbletop table. "Destiny, destiny, destiny!" he roared, in a voice like a mighty lion's. "I am sick and tired of hearing about this 'destiny' that ordains I send my only daughter off to a foreign world—and not just any foreign world, but a world that is currently under the threat of the greatest evil known! Are you mad? She should not be off wandering the forests of an unknown place. She should be here, in the palace, training to become a knife-thrower, training for the day she shall join the third division."

Adibah ground her jaw and pursed her lips. _That his daughter joins the third division—is that all this idiot cares about?_ she wondered, her temper slowly rising. _Would he truly prefer that someone else's daughter takes the honor and glory of defeating the Kalryn's Devil, as long as his own daughter joins the third division? Fool!_

"You act as though you are the only one whose child is off on another world, Noir'chatte," Faolan Oo'kami growled, his hackles rising.

Arjett turned to him, his ears flattened. "She is my heir. Do you think I don't have the right to complain about my heir being sent off to another world?" He turned to Adibah. "Is this the will of this destiny you speak of, or simply the decision of a crazy old woman?"

His wife, Brunoa, gasped in horror. But Adibah merely gazed at the bold feline disapprovingly. When she spoke, her voice was sharp as ice. "My lord, do you think that, had I a choice, I would have sent any of these children off to Gaea to fight the Kalryn's Devil? Do you think, my lord, that I am that wicked a character?" She cocked one eyebrow in a silent challenge.

"This is ridiculous, not to mention very dangerous," Arjett protested, unconsciously accepting the seer's challenge. "They are merely children! I don't care if this is what 'destiny' wants—you should have sent more experienced fighters, soothsayer!"

"Do you not have faith in your own daughter's skill, Lord Noir'chatte?" Dyami Syor'aves said quietly, his deep voice rumbling softly like distant thunder. "Is it not true that she is the best knife-thrower among the trainees—better, perhaps, than some of your own men, my lord?" His face remained impassive, but his eyes held a deeper, darker glow.

Arjett growled. "You only don't complain because your daughter is a psychic, not to mention she can fly!" he snapped, then turned to the Vayo'cards. "And you do not complain because your son is a deadly poisonous reptile! You have no right to say _anything_. If any of our children are in greatest danger—"

"It is our children, for they are not swordsmen or knife-throwers," Ryu Vayo'card interjected, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth, breaking his speech into spitty segments. "My son is merely an archer, and although he may be quick and poisonous, there are some creatures against which agility and arrows do nothing. Dyami's daughter is a psychic, yes, and she can fly, yes, but she is not a swordswoman, nor a knife-thrower. What weapons does she have besides her own psychic abilities? Perhaps you should think of who else is present in this room before you open your mouth and start complaining, Lord Noir'chatte."

"I have faith in my daughter's abilities; that is why I do not worry," Dyami said, his large eyes fixed on Arjett. "Can you say the same of your daughter?"

"They have a point, my lord," Mauli Chie'nyne said, scratching the top of his head between his ears. "Our children—meaning your daughter, my daughter, and Faolan's son—are more likely to survive in certain situations than are Dyami's daughter and Ryu's son. Besides," he added, "it sounds as though the only thing you care about is whether or not your daughter survives to make it to the third division of the royal guard." He tilted his head. "Is that the only thing that matters to you, Noir'chatte? Isn't your daughter's _life_ more important than the reputation of your family name?"

Arjett let out a very dangerous hiss. "Why you—"

"Lord Noir'chatte, take your seat!" Queen Alakana roared, her eyes flashing furiously and as brightly as the crown atop her head. But unlike her crown, which shimmered with brilliant gemstones, her eyes shimmered with angry sparks of lightning that threatened to jump out of her eyes to scorch whatever was in front of her. She glowered at black male cat, who had slowly taken his seat. "This is utterly ridiculous! Never would I have expected such immaturity and scandelous behavior from the captain of the third division of _my_ royal guard. Your actions are uncalled for, my lord, and your treatment of your peers is beyond disrespect."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Arjett said stiffly, his face red underneath his thick face fur. His wife, Brunoa, was blushing furiously, the red tinge to her cheeks more apparent, as her face fur was mostly white. She stared at her lap, carefully not meeting her husband's eyes.

"Your Majesty, if I have leave to speak?" Adibah said, turning to the queen, who was still fuming.

"Go ahead, Adibah," Alakana said shortly, waving her hand. Her fierce glare was still fixed to the now fidgeting Arjett.

Adibah smiled and turned to the black male cat. "You would be pleased and proud to know, my lord Noir'chatte, that your daughter has accepted leadership of their little troupé." At those words, Arjett lifted his eyes from the table, which he had been staring at, to look curiously at the soothsayer. Adibah continued, "This is a greater responsibility than one might think, for there have been many more additions to their party than merely the Royal Draconian and the Mystical Seeress. The Draconian and Seeress, it seems, have many, many friends who have decided to join them—in fact, an entire leviship's worth." Her smile broadened. "She has taken this responsibility quite well, especially considering the obstacles they have already been forced to surpass. You should be quite proud of her, my lord."

Arjett said nothing, but the fierce look in his eyes slowly softened, and he looked almost apologetic. Still smiling, Adibah bent down and reached underneath the table, and brought out a giant crystal globe, much larger than the one she normally used. She looked around the table, her smile stretching to her weary eyes.

"My lords, my ladies, children." She nodded to the young ones who were still trembling in place. "Would any of you like to see what your children, your siblings, are doing at this very moment?" She gestured to the crystal ball, which had slowly began to glow. There was the scratching of chairs being pushed against the wooden floorboards, and the rustle of cloth, as everyone crowded around the soothsayer's globe.

~***~

So I didn't manage to update within a month. But I'm not going to make any excuse this time. I'm a busy person—and that's all there is to it. Not to mention, this is not the only fan-fiction I'm working on right now. And there are some things in my life that are more important and urgent than updating a fan-fiction. I'm doing the best I can. That's all I can say.

**dreamingofflyingaway**: Fancy each other? Perhaps they do… *grins mysteriously*


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vision of Escaflowne_.**

~***~

**Chapter 12: Destiny**

~*~

Allen stared at the black cat-girl in front of him in disbelief. "Did I hear all correctly?" he said. "You're neither from Gaea nor the Mystic Moon, but from a third world entirely. All three worlds are in danger of being conquered by this creature, the 'Kalryn's Devil,' and you're here to stop this 'Devil.' And Van and Hitomi are the sixth and seventh of this mysterious 'the Seven'?" He shook his head. "How do you expect us to believe all this? And when we just went through a war of our own."

Kirra's gaze was so calm that it was frightening. "That is precisely why the Kalryn's Devil is planning an attack _now_, because your planet is already weakened by a devastating war. Of the three worlds—Gaea, Earth, and Nya'tory—Gaea is the easiest one to conquer at this moment. Nya'tory already knows of his existence, so he cannot run amongst oblivious folk. And Earth has no beast-people, so he and his minions would stand out like a ruby amongst pearls."

"But what are supposed to do?" Celena asked worriedly, her eyes wide with fright. She looked at her brother sitting beside her. Allen had pulled them all into one of the rooms in the leviship to hear their explanation, and all had followed with little protest. Now he sat on one side of the table with Celena beside him, Hitomi on his other side, and Van beside her. Merle was bouncing in her chair next to Van, and, as usual, latched onto the king's arm. Across the table from these five sat the five Nya'torians, all with calm expressions on their faces, and unreadable messages shooting across their eyes.

"Find him. Defeat him," Kirra said simply, her voice as calm as her gaze. "It will not be easy. We have been trying to thrwart this crazed creature since the reign of King Ruakan. And I should point out that King Ruakan ruled over fifty years ago."

Van's jaw dropped. "You mean the Kalryn's Devil is over fifty years old? He has been at this for over half a century?" he asked, astounded.

"Oh, he is much more than fifty years old. He is more around a hundred years old; he has been attacking Nya'tory for at least that long. But his last attack, and his biggest, was about fifty years ago," Kirra said. "We thought we had gotten rid of him, but we had merely banished him temporarily. He has returned stronger than ever, because his source of energy is one that cannot be rid of." Her eyes clouded over with what Van could only guess was frustration. _"Yjey fezm nedystf,"_ she hissed under her breath, flattening her ears back on her head.

"How does someone live a hundred years and still be able to command an army?" Merle asked sensibly, starting to doubt the Nya'torians' claim. "That's not natural, unless you people are stranger than we thought."

"Merle, that was uncalled for," Hitomi admonished. Merle's response was to stick her tongue out at the brunette. Hitomi set her lips in a thin, straight line and fumed silently, her eyes still scolding.

Kirra turned her gaze to the pink-haired girl. "Ever heard of _magic_?" she snapped, her patience wearing thin. "The Devil is not like the rest of us. We are not sure how he uses his magic to last this long, but he has. And we know it is the same person because his aura has not changed in one hundred years."

"What kind of magic does he use, precisely?" Allen asked, trying to break the tension.

"If we knew, we would not be here. We would have defeated him the first time, whenever that was." Kirra's voice was as sharp as a pirana's teeth. "All we know is _what_ he uses as his source of magic. And we cannot get rid of his source, unless we wish to have a bunch of drones wandering about. What do you call them? Oh. Robots. Pilotless Guymelefs. Whichever. Robots would be of no use to the Kalryn's Devil, but they would be of no good to the population, either."

"Besides, I do not think anyone has figured out any way to get rid of…his source," Urufu said slowly, casting a sideways glance at the black cat-girl.

"What is his source?" Celena asked, her growing curiosity slowly overriding her fear.

Kirra fixed a level gaze on the blonde. "Emotions."

"Emotions?" Gaddes snorted from the doorway. Everyone turned to face him. He was leaning against the open door, one leg crossed over the other, his arms folded. "How the hell can you use emotions as a source of magic? That's outrageous. What does he do, suck the souls of folk and use their remaining feelings?"

Kirra's eye twitched in irritation. "No," she said through clenched teeth. "Emotions release energy, you blockhead. He simply feeds off the energy released by those emotions. He used to feed off negative emotions, such as hatred, fear, and jealousy. But those feelings are easily amended, and they are not as powerful as the emotions he feeds off now, the positive emotions—namely, love." She glanced at Van and Hitomi, and added, "Especially the kind of love strong enough to save entire worlds from destruction."

Allen glanced at the two teenagers, eyes bulging. "You mean to tell me that…" His voice trailed off, and he whipped his head around to stare furiously at Kirra.

"Do I look like I am lying?" Kirra cocked one eyebrow, her eye still twitching in irritation. "Yes, that is why we came here in the first place. Van and Hitomi are the Sixth and Seventh of the Seven, the Mystical Seeress and the Royal Draconian. It is part of our destiny."

Gaddes cursed. "And he attacks now because Gaea is weak from war."

"But why Gaea? Why not the Mystic Moon?" Merle whined childishly, ignoring the murderous glare Hitomi gave her.

Kirra sucked in her breath through her fangs. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her temples. Her hands dropped, and she slowly opened her eyes, fixing an impassive gaze on the pink-haired feline. "There are no beast-people on Earth," she said, her voice unnaturally pacific; Van had a distinct recollection of the calm before a storm. "All Nya'torians are beast-people, which means all of the Kalryn's Devil's henchmen are beast-people. And how are beast-people supposed to fit in on a planet devoid of beast-people?"

Hitomi gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. "He wants to use Gaeans to take over Earth!" she cried, her eyes bulging like an insect's in horror. "His own henchmen won't have to do a thing, if he can make _humans_ do his bidding!"

"But your clothes are so different from ours," Van said, gesturing to her outfit: sweatpants, a long-sleeved shirt, a zip-up sweatshirt, and sneakers. Hitomi also knew he was thinking of her English sailor suit school uniform.

"Not everyone wears the same thing on Earth," Hitomi pointed out, her tone sharper than she had intended. "Maybe no one Gaea wears pleated skirts, sweatpants, or sneakers, but a sleeveless shirt, khakis, and boots would _not_ be out of place on Earth—nor would a peasant's skirt and blouse. A princess' gown might look a bit odd, but if you remove the petticoats and hoops and manage to take the puff out of the sleeves, then it would look like formalwear. Even the jewelry would not be out of place. And if you take off a tunic and replace the hose with jeans or baggy pants, any man could blend in."

Gaddes muttered profanity under his breath, and Allen's sapphire orbs emitted angry sparks of white lightning.

"How are we supposed to stop him, then, if we don't know his weakness?" the knight inquired, his voice holding none of the anger and frustration that darkened his pale features. "You say you are here to stop the Kalryn's Devil, and yet, do you have any idea how you're going to accomplish this seemingly impossible task? You are merely a band of travelers."

At this, Merle jumped up, standing on her chair, and leaned over the table. "That's right!" she cried; and Van detected a glare of triumph flash across her eyes. "We haven't seen you do anything that proves you're something other than a bunch of beast-people from another planet—and some of you have _some_ magic that's really weird, but what about—"

She was cut off as a flash of silver shimmied past her ear to collide with the wooden wall behind her with a dull _thunk_. Eyes widened, and there was a loud yowl from Merle, as the object was identified: The tip of a long, gleaming, recently sharpened throwing knife was buried in the wood, sunlight from the window bouncing blindly off its blade as it vibrated. Eyes were glued to the knife as the vibrating slowly halted, leaving the weapon dormant in the wall.

"Whoa…" Hitomi breathed, her gaze shifting briefly to Merle; the striped cat's fur was standing on end, and streaks of fear had replaced the triumph in her eyes. "All I saw was a flash of silver; I did not even see…" She paused. "Who…?"

The tap of wood on wood directed everyone's attention to Kirra. Gingerly in her fingers, she held the blade of a knife identical to the one buried in the wall, and was tapping the cloth-wrapped wooden hilt on the table. As everyone watched, she flipped the knife in her hand and caught it by the hilt. A quick, almost unseen flick of her wrist, and the knife joined its companion in the wall.

"I mentioned once before that our parents are members of the royal court of Her Majesty Queen Alakana of Nya'tory. What I did _not_ mention is that four of us have fathers who are captains of divisions of the royal guard, and one of us has a father who is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the kingdom. We go nowhere without our weapons."

"Are you all knife-throwers, then?" Van asked. "For I do not see how you could conceal any other weapon, with the exception of magic."

"I am the only knife-thrower amongst us," was Kirra's denial.

"Impossible!" Gaddes declared with a loud snort.

Kirra's narrow eyes showed her irritation, but she said nothing; instead, she snapped her fingers. In unison, Aurelia and Urufu reached down the back of their tunics, and only then did Van notice that, underneath their matching gold cotton tunics, they wore white long-sleeved shirts, the collars of which barely peeked over the tunic. Each canine pulled out a long scabbard that was easily the length of their backs; but Aurelia's scabbard was straight, while Urufu's scabbard was curved. Van's eyes widened in shock.

_They had concealed their _weapons_ under their _tunics_?_ his mind cried in disbelief. From the look on the faces of the knight and Gaddes, they, too, thought along the same lines. Gaddes even looked a little ashamed of himself—something that Kirra, without a doubt, did not fail to notice. The young king turned to Nyoka and Muniya, wondering if they, too, had any hidden weapons. Muniya wore a gown with enough folds to conceal a number of swords and knives; Nyoka wore a bulky leather vest that seemed oversized, over a tunic with billowy sleeves joined at the wrists with thick cuffs. _Who knows what they are hiding…_ Van thought uncomfortably.

Kirra glanced at Nyoka. The lizard boy unfastened the buttons on the cuff of his sleeve, reached into the billowy white clouds, and pulled out a long, thin arrow. He reached behind him, underneath his vest, and pulled out what looked like three sticks tied together with stiff string. He untied the string and flicked his wrist, and the three sticks snapped together to form an enormous longbow. He quickly strung the bow with the ease of a master and laid it on the table. Van stared at the weapon, dumbfounded; the bow was almost as big as the yeoman!

"A _collapsable_ weapon?" Celena gasped. "How do you construct a strong-enough collapsable weapon? Do you use magic?"

"In this, we do not," Urufu said slowly. "This is our own skills. We do not use magic for everything." He sounded irked, as if he had found her inquiry offensive.

"So, at least you are armed," Allen interjected, changing the subject abruptly. "Now, the question is, what do we do next? Do we try to _find_ this Kalryn's Devil, or do we wait for him to come to us?"

"Neither." Kirra's voice was shockingly soft, with none of the agitation or anger behind it. "We do neither. We cannot wait—by then, he would have manipulated half of Gaea's population, including perhaps your loved ones." Van was shocked at the softness in her choice of words. "Nor can we approach him. Remember what his source of power is. He is as aware of our presence as we are of his. Do you think he is not keeping an eye on us? Perhaps he is not watching our every move, or listening to our every word, but he is aware of our whereabouts." She paused, then continued, "We need to find his henchmen—no doubt they are stationed throughout the planet. Destroying them one by one would weaken his forces, and perhaps from his minions we can find out more about _him_. That is the only way to defeat the Kalryn's Devil. That, and destiny."

"Destiny…" Allen echoed under his breath.

~***~

The chapters are going to be a bit short for awhile. I am just warning you now, so do not be too disappointed. Eventually, when I have more time, I will write longer chapters.


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